Former FEU Tamaraw, Terrence Romeo was recently announced as part of the training pool for the brand new Gilas Pilipinas to represent the country in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship. Giddy for a chance to represent the country, the young guard is nothing but thankful for this rare opportunity.
“Unang una nagpapasalamat ako kay Coach Tab, sa mga assistant coach, na isa ako sa napili nila sa pag represent sa bansa. Sobrang masaya at excited ako. Gagawin ko yung best ko para sa team,” shared the former Tamaraw.
Selecting Romeo as part of the training pool may have been a no-brainer for the coaching staff. Terrence was 8th overall in scoring in the recently concluded PBA Governor’s Cup. Who were the seven other players who scored more than him? Every single one of them were imports.
Romeo led all locals in scoring with 23.3 points, and he wasn’t terrible in getting his teammates involved as he dished out 3.5 assists per game (18th overall), leading the GlobalPort Batang Pier to a 4th place finish after the elimination round with a 7-4 record.
Despite the impressive showing in the PBA, international basketball is a different game. Known for his 1-on-1 skills, Romeo flourished in the recently concluded FIBA 3×3 World Tour, but he has to improve on his decision-making if he wants to excel in the international game.
Good thing Terrence has the perfect mentor in Jimmy Alapag, and Terrence can’t wait to learn anything he can from one of the Philippines’ most iconic point guards.
“Sobrang malaking privilege para sa akin kasi alam na ni kuya Jimmy yung experience sa national team. Alam na niya kung ano ‘yung dapat gawin dun, kaya yun ‘yung kailangan kong matutunan sa kanya,” said Terrence. “Yung mga tamang decision sa game, yun ‘yung dapat kong matutunan kay kuya Jimmy.”
Now that he finally has a chance to crack the Gilas team, Romeo is willing to show he has what it takes to represent the Philippines and accomplish his dream.
“Sobrang masaya ako. Dream come true kasi simula nung bata ako gusto ko maglaro para sa Pilipinas.”
*Stats taken from humblebola.com
