San Miguel head coach Leo Austria is glad to finally have Terrence Romeo back in action after missing his services for a while due to a foot injury.
The former three-time scoring champion returned to the fold on Wednesday. He provided instant impact, helping the Beermen eliminate NorthPort in Game Two of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal tiff.
“I’m happy he was able to play today for him to be accustomed again to what kind of system we’re running,” the decorated mentor said moments after the match at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor.
Sent out of the semi-bubble to have his Achilles checked in Manila, Romeo entered the game late in the opening frame. He then went on to finish with 11 points on a 33-percent clip.
Romeo also had four rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
Austria said that it is a ‘good relief’ to have the former UAAP Most Valuable Player from FEU again as it extends his point guard rotation.
“He’s still struggling, but it’s a good relief para dito sa mga point guard namin. Before they arrived, it’s hard for Chris Ross to play 38 minutes all the way, because there’s a lot of teams with a lot of good defenders,” he said.
Austria is optimistic that the one-time Finals MVP will be able to regain his old form soon. Still, he was quick to add that his prized guard hasn’t fully recovered yet and remains observed on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m sure in the next few days, if he will be given some time to practice, he will be back to his old form.
“But it depends, day-to-day basis pa rin because it’s still not one hundred percent,” said the four-time Coach of the Year.
The same applies to veteran guard Alex Cabagnot, the first to rejoin the Beermen in Game One last Sunday. He even nailed the game-winning bucket to pull his side to one win away from the semifinals.
Photo by PBA Images
“Same thing with Alex Cabagnot because alam naman natin, we’re lucky on our first game against NorthPort. He was able to perform well, but today, still ano eh, nag-ii-struggle pa,” he offered.
“He’s trying to adjust because this is only his second game. But I’m sure in the next game I think he will be adjusted na,” he added.
Still, Austria is definitely glad to finally have a full-strength crew at his disposal heading into their best-of-seven semis clash versus TNT.
“I know if they will be given some time to practice with the team, I think makukuha nila ‘yun.”
