Terrence Romeo is again a rockstar as Malaysian players idolize him

MANILA, Philippines – Terrence Romeo’s appeal continues to transcend geographic and cultural borders.

The 25-year-old guard again received the rockstar treatment following Gilas Pilipinas’ 106-51 shellacking of neighboring Malaysia in the 2017 SEABA Men’s Championship on Sunday, May 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here.

Romeo was seen granting photo opportunities to several Malaysian players on the court – one of whom was tagged as his lookalike on the sole basis of the Malaysian sporting blonde hair much like Romeo did in the past.

“Nagulat ako. ‘Yung iba, sabi sa akin na idol ako, so nakakatuwa na kahit taga-ibang bansa, iniidolo tayong mga Pilipino (I was surprised. Some said I was their idol, so I felt happy that even those in other countries look up to us Filipinos),” said Romeo, who put up 12 points and 7 assists in the Philippines’ third consecutive victory.

“Masaya ako na nakakapag-inspire rin ako ng ibang players sa ibang bansa. Sana makalaro ko ulit sila darating pa na panahon.” (I’m happy to be able to inspire other players abroad. I hope I could play against them again in the future.)

It wasn’t just Romeo. Big man Raymond Almazan also received some love when he was approached by center Kek Thai Chan for a photo.

“Idol niya raw ako eh, pinapanood niya raw ako,” said Almazan, who was flattered by the gesture. “Sabi niya ‘I want to take a picture with you.’ Sabi ko ‘okay, okay.’“

(He said he idolized me and that he watches me play. He said ‘I want to take a picture with you.’ So I said ‘okay, okay.’)

This isn’t the first time Romeo captured international attention. There was also the #RomYu craze during the 2015 Jones Cup, where Romeo earned himself a ship name with Taiwanese reporter Jenny Yu.

Meanwhile, forward Matthew Wright also had a mini-reunion with his old Malaysian old teammate Wei Hong Choo, whom he played with in the Westports Malaysia Dragons, winning the ASEAN Basketball League title in 2016.

Coming in, Wright treated the game just like any other and did not hold back.

“I think it was only one teammate and I just didn’t really feel anything. It was just another game for me,” said Wright, who had 12 markers.

“I do cherish that we did win a championship last year but this is a new year and I have a new team so I have different priorities, different focus now. But it was good to see Wei Hong [Choo] out there as the main guy, he worked hard [and] we used to go at it in practice. I’m happy to see that he’s improved.” – Rappler.com