Thanks to Terrence Romeo, Jayson Castro’s absence isn’t heavily felt by the TNT KaTropa.
Romeo played the role of a floor general on Sunday evening versus the NorthPort Batang Pier, and he did not disappoint, as he produced 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting and eight assists to lead the Texters to a come-from-behind 104-102 victory.
That performance alone was already an excellent way to fill in the shoes left by Castro, who has now missed his second straight game for the KaTropa as he is currently recovering from the removal of bone spurs in his foot.
However, the 26-year-old isn’t taking all the credit for himself.
“Mukha lang ako yung nagli-lead sa game pero ang talagang nagli-lead sa’min yung mga veterans.
“Sila yung ‘pag ako nasa bench, kinakausap nila ako na ganito yung gawin mo. So ako, sumusunod lang ako,” the five-year pro said.
Aside from the veterans, Romeo also gave props to TNT consultant Mark Dickel and coach Tab Baldwin, his former coach in Gilas Pilipinas back in 2015 where they won silver in the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha.
Baldwin has been visiting TNT practices often to help Dickel, whom he handled as a player in the New Zealand national team years ago.
“Yung coach namin, si coach Mark, talagang super hands on siya saming lahat. Talagang sinasabi niya samin yung dapat naming gawin, as in kung ano mismo yung dapat mong gawin, yun yung sasabihin niya sa’yo,” he said.
“And yun din, si coach Tab, grabe! Ang laking tulong ni coach Tab.”
The KaTropa are now on a three-game winning streak, and for the reigning scoring champion, it’s because he and his teammates now know what their respective purposes are in the team.
“Yung changes siguro, sa nakikita ko, alam na ng lahat, yung isa’t isa, yung role nila, namin,” said the five-year pro. “Alam na namin yung role namin tapos lahat kami nagko-commit na gawin yung pinapagawa sa’min ni coach.”
