AS Alex Cabagnot returns, can Terrence Romeo be far behind?
San Miguel is slowly getting its championship core back together again as Romeo likewise arrived in the Bacolor bubble with hopes of suiting up finally for the Beermen in the Philippine Cup playoffs.
Coach Leo Austria said the three-time scoring champion returned to Pampanga on Saturday and is just completing his quarantine procedure before joining the team in practice once cleared.
The SMB coach also raised the possibility that the flamboyant guard can be available for Game 2 on Thursday when the Beermen gun for the series clincher against NortPort.
“Terrence is already in the hotel, but we have to follow the protocols as he needs a two-day quarantine. Hopefully, next game makapag-practice na siya,” said the San Miguel coach after the team escaped with an 88-87 win over the Batang Pier Sunday night at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym.
The win wouldn’t have been possible if not for Cabagnot’s game-winning basket in the final 1.5 seconds of Game 1 that highlighted his return from a knee injury that forced him to miss seven of the Beermen’s elimination-round assignments.
Cabagnot finished with a game-high 20 points on 53 percent shooting from the floor despite entering the bubble on the eve of the match.
Terrence awaits clearance
Now San Miguel hopes to get that same impact once Romeo gets the go signal to play after sitting out the team’s final two games prior to the playoffs due to an injury to his Achilles tendon.
Before going down with his second injury this conference, the former UAAP MVP from Far Eastern University led the entire league in scoring with an average of 19.0 points per game.
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