The past eight months have been magical for Terrence Romeo.
Last May, Romeo ended his six-year odyssey, hoisting his first-ever big league championship.
Then the hits just kept coming, as three months later, the flamboyant guard won his second crown.
“Unang-una, masaya talaga, siyempre. Pero lahat ng ito dahil kay God. Wala namang may control ng panalo namin kundi Siya,” expressed Romeo.
“Thankful din ako sa mga kumupkop sa’kin – [si] Boss RSA [Ramon Ang], Boss Alfrancis [Chua]. Kung ‘di dahil sa kanila, ‘di ako mapupunta sa SMB. Tapos winelcome ako ng mga teammates ko.”
During his first six years in the league, people accused the 5-foot-9 guard of being a ball-hog – ‘bwakaw’, as they say.
Though he won three scoring championships, it led to no conference titles. Zilch. Nada.
Then the formerly-GlobalPort franchise shipped him to TNT back in April of 2018. And then just eight months later, TNT shipped him to San Miguel.
He knew something had to change in him.
“Para sa’kin, ‘pag iniisiip mo na pa’no kayo manalo, mas makakalimutan mo na kailangan ikaw ang bida eh.”
In San Miguel, the once-alpha guard turned into one piece of a puzzle. Yes, he was still a star, but the core of June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, and Marcio Lassiter shone brighter.
Though that quintet has won crown after crown, they remained humble and hungry. And being with them brought a change in him.
“Kumbaga ‘di mo kailangan laging bida. Ang importante manalo yung team. May mga games na four attempts, two attempts, pero panalo kami,” said Romeo.
“Pero ‘di na mahalaga kung sino may maraming points or best player every game.”
When Lassiter went down during the semis, Romeo needed to step up. Indeed he did, averaging 14.8 points and 4.3 assists per game.
His unselfishness rewarded him with the Finals Most Valuable Player plum — the biggest individual recognition he has ever received.
“Yun yung natutunan ko – para sa’kin, na-adapt ko na culture nila na [para manalo] unang-una, kailangan maging unselfish ka.”
Just like his teammates, Romeo is now hungrier for more.
