Terrence Romeo believes that the TNT Katropa have to play much better in their last three games of the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, if the Texters aim to finish the elimination round as one of the top two squads.
Their bid took a hit on Wednesday night as the Katropa bowed to Paul Lee and the Magnolia Hotshots, 89-111, snapping their three-game winning streak and sending them to the third spot of the standings with a 6-2 record.
“Ang goal namin is makapasok sa top two. Ngayon, nasa number three na kami. Kailangan mas pagbutihan namin sa next games namin,” said the reigning scoring champion, who led TNT with 17 markers in the sour defeat.
The Katropa were far from the team that won three straight games, especially on defense. The energy wasn’t there, and the Hotshots, as a result, unleashed a 20-3 rally en route to a 99-76 lead and never looked back.
But aside from that, Romeo shared that they still have a lot of polishing to do in terms of chemistry and in terms of playing against teams who play pressure defense, like the Hotshots and the surging Alaska Aces.
“Yung chemistry ng team, malapit na pero kailangan pa rin naming i-work out. First time namin na makasama si Josh (Joshua Smith) na talo kami,” reflected the 5-foot-11 gunner.
“Kailangan i-assess namin ang mistakes namin at mga dapat naming gawin sa mga teams na mahiling mag-pressure tulad ng Magnolia at Alaska dahil sila ang dalawang teams na nakatalo sa amin.”
Now, the Katropa are pressed to work even harder, as they will face the defending champions San Miguel Beermen this Saturday, June 16. The Beermen are also hungry for a win, as they lost GlobalPort earlier, 94-98.
“Siyempre kailangan ma-correct namin ang mga mistakes namin. Kung same pa rin ang pagkakamali, ganun pa rin. Kailangan naming maging mas aggressive. Mas ma-recognize namin ang mga mismatch,” the five-year pro said.
“Medyo may times na nagre-rely kami sa isang strength. Yung flow ng game, ‘di maganda kasi ‘di namin naitatakbo.”
