‘MARAMI PA AKONG KAKAINING BIGAS’ | Romeo says working out with Castro, Tenorio at Gilas helped him improve

PBA Media Bureau

When Terrence Romeo became part of the Philippine national men’s basketball team last year, the first thing he did was seek the advice of the veteran point guards that have come before him – Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio and Jayson Castro.

Romeo believes that the opportunity to constantly test himself against talents like Castro, who has twice been named the Best Point Guard in Asia, has allowed him to make strides in his game.

“Kakalaro mo kina Kuya Jayson, kina Kuya LA, kakakuha mo ng advice sa kanila, saan ka pa ba mas gagaling kung hindi sa mga andito na sa sitwasyong magaling na sila. Sila yung pinakamagaling sa PBA. Para sa akin yung advice na makukuha ko sa kanila magagamit ko talaga,” Romeo told InterAksyon.com.

Romeo is again, for the third straight season, the PBA’s scoring leader and it wasn’t much of a surprise when Castro pointed to the explosive GlobalPort guard as the top point guard in the league today.

Though he was glad to hear the praise, he was quick to downplay the sentiment, believing Castro to still be ahead of him.

“Syempre flattered ako. Unang-una galing sa Best Point Guard in Asia. Malayo pa, marami pa akong kakaining bigas. Hindi ko pa puwedeng ma-compare kung gaano na ako kalayo. Sobrang layo sa akin ni Kuya Jayson,” Romeo said.

“Pero galing sa kanya, masaya ako doon. Kailangang pagbutihan ko. Gawin kong motivation yung sinabi niya sa akin.”

In their matchup on Wednesday night, both players displayed their scoring prowess as Castro finished with 37 while Romeo scored 33. ‘The Blur’ not only won the individual battle, he also emerged victorious on the team front as his TNT squad picked up the win.

Romeo wasn’t surprised with the performance of his Gilas teammate and mentor.

“Hindi na bago para sa akin yung ginagawa ni Kuya Jayson ngayon. Matagal ko siyang nakasama sa Gilas so alam ko yung abilidad niya. Sobrang taas ng IQ, sobrang lakas ng katawan. Kung pure point guard, nasa kanya na lahat,” he said.

“Alam niyang i-involve yung teammates niya, alam niya yung tamang decision sa crucial time. Tapos yung mabigat, yung shooting niya. Mahirap siyang bantayan. Kapag nilapitan mo sobrang bilis. Kapag nilayuan mo, deadly naman siya sa labas. Ang kailangan mo na lang gawin magdasal kapag tumira siya.” - Interaksyon