Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

In basketball they say that height is might. But not in the case of Terrence Romeo. In the recently concluded MVP Cup and Jones Cup, Romeo proved that in basketball, height does not matter. In spite of his size, he stood tallest among the others because of his quickness, talent, and of course, his big heart. He was the team’s go-to-guy especially when the game was on the line. He showed everyone that he can put matters into his own hands. Everytime he would be fielded in, the crowd would be on their feet, waiting something spectacular from this diminutive point guard.


Video by Sports5

In their game against Chinese-Taipei A in the Jones Cup, Romeo made a killer crossover that really brought the house down. Even Jordan Clarkson, an NBA player, couldn’t believe what he saw. In their match against South Korea, though we lost that one, it was very clear how Romeo’s presence was felt when he’s on the court. His team mates started to play better basketball and the Koreans’ defense started to crumble. He can penetrate to the basket because of his quickness and dribbling skills or he can shoot from the 3 point line. He can be a scorer and at the same time play strong defense. He can be likened to Johnny Abbarientos, who, coincidentally, was also a product of FEU and played the same position. In other words, this native guy of Imus, Cavite is an all around player. He can easily set the pace for his team. No wonder Taiwanese fans started to fall in love with him. In one of his interviews, he was even asked by Jennifer Yu, if she could be his Juliet.

After a successful stint in Taipei, Team Gilas headed back home to participate in the 2015 MVP Cup. As expected, Romeo once again showed flashes of brilliance with his razzle-dazzle plays and his on-court leadership. In their game against New Zealand, however, Romeo started slowly, with a dismal performance in the first half. But, great players don’t give up as they say, and Romeo proved this in the second half as he clawed his way up and teamed up with Abueva in the last quarter. With the Kiwis up by 11 in the fourth, Gilas slowly turned the game around. Down by four in the last 3 and a half minutes, Romeo unleashed two 3 pointers that gave the Philippines the lead. Gilas won the game by 3 points with Romeo scoring the last 2 from the line where he missed 5 straight shots. He finished the game with 18 points and 4 from the arc. Not bad for someone who had a bad first half.

After 2 years in the PBA, he has won several individual awards including the Most Improved Player and the ALL-STAR MVP award. At 23, this guy will surely continue to dominate the game not only in the PBA, but also in international tournaments. Team Gilas is so fortunate to have a player like him.

Terrence Romeo Basketball Awards

• FIBA 3X3 World Tour Manila MVP (2015)
• FIBA 3X3 World Tour Manila Shootout Champion (2015)
• PBA Most Improved Player (2015)
• PBA Mythical Second Team (2015)
• PBA Scoring Champion (2015)
• PBA All-Star Game MVP (2015)
• PBA Three-Point Shootout Champion (2015)
• UAAP Most Valuable Player (2014)
• UAAP Rookie of the Year (2011)
• UAAP Juniors’ Most Valuable Player (2010)

Trivia: Terrence Romeo once scored 83 points in 31 mins for FEU Baby Tamaraws (Currently the UAAP Juniors Record for Most Points in a game)

Written by Arnold F. Servillon

Arnold is a learning consultant who has been working in Dubai for the past 9 years. He is also a part time artist who specializes in portraiture.