PROVING HE DESERVES SPOT AMONG STARS
After being named as an All-Star reserve, Terrence Romeo believes that he shouldn’t rest on his laurels and would rather keep on working to prove he deserves his place among the elite.
“Naging proud ako sa sarili ko kasi napasama ako, pero di ako pwedeng mag-relax at mas kailangan ko pagbutihan para sa mga taong naniniwala na karapat-dapat ako dun,” the 22-year-old guard said.
And just like that, he had another strong outing, torching Blackwater with 25 points to anchor GlobalPort to a 101-78 win on Sunday, giving coach Eric Gonzales his first back-to-back wins as a PBA coach.
“Focus lang ako sa magaganda kong ginagawa. Yung bad game ko sa Meralco, kailangan ko maka-recover dun eh. Yung mga mali ko, dapat iimprove ko,” he said, as the Batang Pier upped their record to 4-3.
And a big reason for their rise is new import Calvin Warner.
Though a bit undersized against his counterparts at 6-foot-5, Warner has been a steady presence in the paint for GlobalPort, as evidenced by his 17 markers and a conference-high 30 rebounds in their game against the Elite.
“Sya talaga yung fit sa sistema namin kasi wala kaming inside presence na nagdodominate eh,” Romeo said. “Alam kong sobrang aggressive nya. Malakas syang tumalon sa practice.
Kumbaga, beterano na talaga sya. Ngayon na andyan na sya, nagkakaroon kami ng inside at outside offense kaya mas mahirap kaming bantayan.”
And Warner’s energy has obviously rubbed off on his teammates, as GlobalPort recorded a conference-high 74 boards in the win, against just 45 for Blackwater.
“Sabi ni coach, every loose ball possession, dapat makuha namin. Kailangan kami makipag-agawan sa rebounds. Lagi nyang nireremind sa amin yun para magkaroon kami ng chance umatake,” Romeo said, as they also ran the Elite to the ground by scoring 19 fastbreak points to just nine for Blackwater, and also outscoring them in second chance points, 52-32.
The sophomore gunner only hopes that GlobalPort can continue this tear, as the team takes a one-week break before facing Talk ‘N Text next Sunday.
“Tingin ko kaya namang masusustain yung magandang laro namin kung magpeprepare kami sa kanila,” he said. “Ang pwede lang naming masabi, magpeprepare kami para sa kanila.” (RL)
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