AFTER THEIR DUEL, ROMEO LAUDS HIS ‘IDOL’ CAGUIOA
November 28, 2013 will go down in PBA history as the day the enigmatic rookie Terrence Romeo played with fire and stood face-to-face with “The Spark”. And he didn’t disappoint in his first game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Known as a volume scorer even in his high school days, the 2013 UAAP Most Valuable Player almost willed his team to a comeback, scoring 27 points for the game, but fell short as GlobalPort suffered a 104-109 setback against the crowd-favorites.
Despite the loss, Romeo was approached by Mark Caguioa, who gave the rookie some words of encouragement after their duel was all set and done, telling the former FEU Tamaraw to keep his head up.
“Sabi ni Kuya Mark, kita kami sa next game at sabi ko naman po, ibibigay ko pa lalo ang best ko para bantayan sya next game,” said Romeo. “Sobrang humble lang po ni Kuya Mark.”
Going into this game, Romeo knew what to expect as he prepared himself for the ever-enthusiastic Ginebra legions, but he told himself to never be deterred by their heckles.
“Nasa isip ko lang, kahit ano yung sinasabi ng crowd, kahit anong nangyayari sa loob ng court, kahit negative man, ang iisipin ko lang is puro positive,” he said. “Pero parang nangapa kami sa depensa nung first half tapos sila, nakakashoot na kaya kami nila nalamangan agad.”
Though Caguioa had the final blows to put the game away for Ginebra after scoring 29 of his own, Romeo is still full of praises for his rival on that faithful night.
“Kahit anong mangyari, kahit ma-shootan mo yan, walang magbabago. Mark Caguioa is Mark Caguioa talaga. Natutuwa po na naka-score ako sa kanya ako syempre, iba pa rin si Kuya Mark,” he said.
He added, “Sobrang saya ko lang kasi sobrang idol ko sya. Lagi ko lang napapanood dati tapos ngayon nakakalaban ko na ng ganun. Kahit naka-side na yung tira nya, nashu-shoot pa rin.”
“Sobrang taas pa rin po ng respeto ko kay Kuya Mark. Sobrang idol ko po sya, Romeo said.
Though already reaping praises in only his third game as a professional, Romeo still knows that he has a lot to learn to get to where Caguioa is.
“Kailangan ko pang magtrabaho,” he said. “Work hard pa para marating ko yung narating ni Kuya Mark.”
For the rest of us? We just have to wait until January 17, 2014 for the second round of Ginebra and GlobalPort, or should we say Caguioa-Romeo II? (RLeongson)
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