Terrence Romeo has always had a knack of draining in-your-face long bombs off fancy dribbles in the clutch to will his team to victory, much to the chagrin of their opposition.
The 5-foot-10 combo guard’s move is his bread and butter. And on Sunday night, he it was showcased once more.
The stakes were higher this time hitting a huge trey all over Kevin Racal with 8.1 ticks remaining and put Globalport up 106-104. The shot served as the haymaker to knock out the Alaska Aces, 107-106.
But for the 25-year-old, that big shot was all about mere luck.
“Suwerte. Tsamba.
“Ang thinking ko lang nun kailangan makapaglaro kami ng isang game pa. ‘Di talaga pumapasok sa isip ko na matalo,” said Romeo, who finished the game with 26 points.
Even head coach Franz Pumaren was in awe with his young guard’s composure during crunch time.
“He’s really willing to take that shot, that’s why he’s Terrence Romeo. In short, makapal talaga ang mukha niya,” said Pumaren with a chuckle.
“That’s a gutsy move. It takes one great player willing to take that shot.”
Romeo then responded in jest to his coach’s statement.
“Sinabi ko na lang din sa kanya sa dugout na siguro nung naglalaro din siya baka ganun din, makapal din ang mukha niya. So, nagmana lang ako sa kanya sabi ko,” Romeo quipped.
Still, Romeo could not be more thankful as they will head to the playoffs. But that will be a daunting task in the next round, as they will face the top-seed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
“Sobrang thankful kami kay God na nanalo kami. Nagpapasalamat din kami sa coaches namin, kay coach Franz. Sa teammates ko, kung hindi dahil sa kanila di rin kami mananalo,” said Romeo.
“Wala pa akong thoughts [on Ginebra] gusto ko lang pumunta sa practice bukas at mag-prepare. Bahala na kung ano mangyayari sa Tuesday. Basta going to that game kailangan prepared kami.”