Romeo is not a fluke, says Baldwin after Gilas win over Chinese Taipei-A

Warning: Undefined variable $nocontent in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 236

Warning: Undefined variable $FEAT_STORIES in /var/www/pba/single2017/addfunction-ondemand-gitlab-taboola.php on line 685

Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, bool given in /var/www/pba/single2017/addfunction-ondemand-gitlab-taboola.php on line 688

Warning: Undefined array key 0 in /var/www/pba/single2017/addfunction-ondemand-gitlab-taboola.php on line 730

TAIPEI – Minus Andray Blatche and majority of the old Gilas group, newcomers Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva picked up the slack as Team Phl humbled Chinese Taipei, 77-69, in a triumphant comeback in the Jones Cup here Sunday night.

Old reliable Jayson Castro helped hold the fort, especially in the crunch, as the Nationals settled their old score with the Taiwanese for the inspiring victory churned out before a sellout crowd at the Xinchuang Gymnasium here.

A good number of Filipinos formed part of the mammoth crowd that stood as witness as Gilas avenged a loss suffered at the hands of Chinese Taipei during the preliminaries of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Moala Tautuaa, Dondon Hontiveros, Gabe Norwood and Marc Pingris had their contributions as Gilas Pilipinas finally tasted a win after dropping all three matches in an Estonian pocket tourney.

“Honestly, I don’t want to be carried away by this win. We’re happy to win it but there are so many things to work on, and we’ll focus on that,” said Gilas coach Tab Baldwin.

“It’s always a big thing for Gilas to win with millions of Filipinos back home and around the world happy with it. That’s the way it is in our country. But we’ll be back to work now. We play Korea (at 5 p.m. Monday) and that’s the only thing we’re thinking about now,” Baldwin also said.

Romeo and Abueva worked hard and provided inspiration in their Jones Cup debut.

“Terrence is not a fluke. He can play the way he played tonight. It’s truly his craft. He’s professional about his craft, and he deserves a lot of respect and admiration,” said Baldwin of Romeo who top scored with 18 points.

“We always know what he’s gonna get. He’s a ball of energy. He’s a solar energy. He’s amazing,” said Baldwin of Abueva who tossed in 15 markers and added five rebounds.

Romeo and Abueva were key factors as Gilas built a 19-point spread, 47-28, in the first half then weathered a fierce Chinese Taipei fightback in the final half.

At the finish, Castro joined forces with Abueva and Romeo to frustrate the home team and the home crowd that were hoping for a follow-up to their stirring overtime win over Japan Saturday night.

Abueva, Romeo and Castro scored all of Gilas Pilipinas’ last 16 markers.    

With Gilas still holding a shaky lead at 68-65, Romeo fired a big trey then Castro attacked the lane and pulled up for a twinner to ease the pressure.

At the height of the Gilas breakaway, the Filipino fans went crazy with Jordan Clarkson joining the fun, jumping up and down behind the Gilas bench.

Coming off the bench, Romeo and Abueva provided instant firepower, sparkling in a decisive 27-8 attack that carried Gilas to a 19-point spread at 47-28.

Romeo strung up nine points in the first quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup off a steal that gave the Nationals a 26-20 lead in the first quarter.

Sonny Thoss, Dondon Hontiveros, Jayson Castro, Gabe Norwood and Marc Pingris formed the Gilas starting five that got the team to a 13-7 start. (SB)

Warning: Undefined array key "TESTPAGE" in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 254

Warning: Undefined array key "fb" in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 280

Warning: Undefined variable $thinq in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 318

Warning: Undefined variable $var_sports_vlurb in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 328

Warning: Undefined variable $isghub in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 429

Warning: Undefined variable $mindanaoQuake2019 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 442

Warning: Undefined variable $showSolicit_batanes in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 459

Warning: Undefined variable $seagames in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 475

Warning: Undefined variable $tokyoOlympics2020 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 481

Warning: Undefined variable $help_ompong in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 525

Warning: Undefined variable $elections_2019 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 538

Warning: Undefined variable $typhoon_2018_redirect in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 543

Warning: Undefined variable $ncov2020 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 555

Warning: Undefined variable $tyhoon2020_marthon in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 578

Warning: Undefined variable $dotnet23 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 585

Warning: Undefined variable $suicide in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 595

Warning: Undefined variable $yearend2020 in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 600

Warning: Undefined array key "inqplus_test" in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 609

Warning: Undefined array key "newreadnext" in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 664

View comments

TAGS: 2015 Jones Cup, Chinese Taipei, gilas pilipinas, Tab Baldwin, Terrence Romeo

Warning: Undefined variable $bc_tag in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 1239

For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

Warning: Undefined array key "ss2_test" in /var/www/pba/single2017/body-gitlab.php on line 1418