IN the parlance of today’s generation, Terrence Romeo is still him.
Hounded with injuries and then thrust into a loaded San Miguel roster where he’s to share minutes with several other stars, Romeo reminded everyone of how lethal he can still be when his team needed him to take over.
And perhaps there was no better venue to show up than at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday as San Miguel weathered the signature Barangay Ginebra storm and came away with a thrilling 131-125 overtime victory on Game 2 that tied their best-of-seven semifinals affair to a a game apiece.
READ: Late Terrence Romeo explosion lifts SMB past Ginebra in OT thriller
Romeo poured in 26 points, made all five of his three-pointers and a big time four point shot in overtime which turned the momentum to San Miguel’s favor for good as the Beermen hushed a partisan Ginebra crowd.
“Ready lang ako. Ready lang ako every game. Thank God na shoot ko mga tira ko,” Romeo said while deflecting his big night to his team.
“It’s a team effort talaga. Ang ganda ng ball movement namin. Ang ganda ng defense namin. Mas madali kaming nakakapag execute pag nakaka-stop kami ng maganda.“
His explosion couldn’t have come at a better moment for San Miguel.
Losing an 11-point deficit early in the fourth, the Beermen turned to Romeo for answers and he delivered – responding to big shots from Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson and Stephen Holt with bigger baskets of his own as San Miguel stayed afloat amid the deafening cheers of the Ginebra crowd.
And with 2:07 remaining in overtime, Romeo came out with his biggest basket in the game, draining a top of the key four pointer to break the deadlock and give San Miguel a 121-117 lead, a lead they’d never relinquish.
All in all, he dropped 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent knows the value that Romeo still has, confident that despite Romeo not being the top option anymore, he’ll show up when the stakes are the highest.
“He’s always ready for that competition. He shows that if his name is called, he will deliver,” Gallant said. “I’m very happy that Terrence played well and I hope he continues to play like that so we can pull out victories.”
That readiness comes from years of being the man, of embracing the spotlight, of breaking the opposing fans' hearts with his deadly play each time he dances around his defender on the perimeter going back to his days as a UAAP MVP for Far Eastern University.
Maybe the deafening cheers of the Ginebra crowd brought him to his university days, and reminded him of what he truly is – a true killer when given the green light.
“Sa mga ganung moment, matagal naman na kong may experience diyan, alam ko yung pakiramdam ng playoffs, ng semis, alam ko pakiramdam paano mag perform dyan,” he said.
“Hindi naman nagbabago hard work ko kaya di nawawala kumpyansa ko sa mga ganyang moments.”
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