TERRENCE Romeo made a grand entrance with TnT Katropa for good and bad reasons as he had a winning debut that was tarnished by a hefty fine.
For taking a jab at officiating after the Katropa's 128-114 drubbing of Globalport in the opener of the PBA Commissioner's Cup, the flamboyant guard was fined P25,000 on Friday.
Commissioner Willie Marcial imposed the penalty shortly after personally hearing the side of the new TNT star signing upon being summoned at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.
Romeo sarcastically hit the officiating after Sunday's game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, even addressing one official as refereeing 'in another planet.'
The bone of contention was the two straight dribbling violations called on Romeo in the fourth quarter of the highly-physical game between the two teams that figured in a celebrated trade that paved the way for Romeo's transfer to TnT.
The 26-year-old shooting guard was accompanied by TnT team manager Virgil Villavicencio as they came straight from the Katropa practice at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, where they play the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Saturday.
"He apologized and said he'll be more careful the next time," said Marcial of his short meeting with Romeo.
The TnT star player was originally summoned Thursday along with teammate Don Trollano, Globalport's Mo Tautuaa, Malcolm White, and Joseph Gabayni, and Allein Maliksi of Blackwater.
But he failed to show up at the last minute owing to a 'personal matter.'
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph