ANTIPOLO – Alex Cabagnot has nothing but love and respect for former teammate Terrence Romeo.
“We compete against each other. I know he’s a competitor,” said Cabagnot of Romeo at the end of an exhilarating sudden-death win by San Miguel over Converge for the last semifinals ticket in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
But the two backcourt partner at San Miguel had some heated moments in the deciding Game 5 at the Ynares Center, foremost of which was the shot given by Romeo that left Cabagnot sprawled on the floor at the 10-minute mark of the final quarter.
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Romeo was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 for the physical play and had to be taken out of the game, never to return again.
Naturally, Cabagnot heard a lot of jeers from San Miguel Beer fans, the very same people who once idolized and supported him when he was still part of the team’s dreaded ‘Death 5.’
“Bino-boo ako ng San Miguel fans,” Cabagnot said with a shrug.
As with his altercation with Romeo, the 41-year-old guard said they were just trying to get into the minds of each other.
“Nagkukulitan lang kami,” he quipped. “As you know, Terrence is one of my favorite players. Our lockers were next to each other at San Miguel, we sit next to each other, we compete against each other. Ganun lang.”
“He has the young legs working for him so I got to do something,” a smiling Cabagnot added. “It was fun while it lasts. I wish him well.”
Outside of his incident with Romeo, Cabagnot had some big moments in the game as he finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists in a contest that obviously got away from the FiberXers.
At one point, the nine-time champion even personally outscored the entire San Miguel team, 8-0, during a stretch in the second quarter.
Unfortunately, the Beermen’s end game experience prevailed against a Converge team that is playing in its first ever sudden-death Game 5 in franchise history.
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“San Miguel is a tough team. Being on the other side, I knew what they’re gonna do. I kind of have a feeling what they’re gonna do and they did do that,” said Cabagnot. “They have certain pieces and they have championship pedigree.
“They stayed calm when they needed to. Kudos to them, kudos to San Miguel.”
In parting, he still teased Romeo for hitting him on the side of his body.
“Natira ako dito ni Terrence,” he said pointing at his ribs.
“Si Terrence talaga naka-dalawa na sa akin this conference,” Cabagnot added, apparently referring to another incident with his former san Miguel teammate.
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