Terrence Romeo surprised to become crowd darling in Gilas stint in Jones Cup

Gilas Pilipinas rookie Terrence Romeo was the darling of the crowd in the recently-concluded William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

 

The 5-foot-10 guard wowed Filipino and Taiwanese fans alike with the crafty handles and the scoring ability he showed in the annual tournament, averaging 15.2 points in just 18 minutes of play per game.

 

Sharing a name with popular Shakespeare character Romeo, the spiky blonde-haired cager was easily remembered by the local audience leading to several interviews with the Taiwanese media.

 

"Di ko ine-expect 'yun. In-expect ko punta lang ako dun para matuto, para mag-improve," the 22-year-old gunner told reporters after Gilas' first practice back home on Wednesday.

 

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Romeo, who previously starred in FIBA 3X3 events, put on a show for the Jones Cup crowd as he scored over towering giants Quincy Davis of Chinese Taipei A, Korean NBA player Ha Seung-Jin, and even tournament Most Valuable Player Hamed Hadaddi of Iran.

 

Asked how he did those highlight reel plays against cagers around a foot taller than him, Romeo said he does not even recognize his man when he drives to the basket.

 

"Actually 'di ko sila nakikita e pag umaatake ako. Ang nakikita ko 'yung ring e, kasi pag nakita mo sila baka 'di mo na maitira," said Romeo, who ranked 10th in average scoring ahead of Hadaddi, Davis, Mahdi Kamrani, and Taiwanese star Lin Chih-Chieh.

 

"Pag tingin mo na malayo naman sila or 'di sila makaka-help, syempre wag mo nang sayangin ang split second na malilibre ka," he added.

 

Romeo played only five games in the tournament after spraining his ankle against Iran, but he said he poured everything he could give to help Gilas Pilipinas' campaign.

 

The young GlobalPort guard, however, was keen on raising his level even a notch higher to help the national team come the FIBA Asia Championships in two weeks.

 

"Tingin ko 'yun na 'yung 100 percent ko," he said. "Kailangan magdagdag pa ako ng isa pang 100 uli. 'Yun ang pinag aaralan ko, kung pano palabasin 'yun." —JST, GMA News