Becoming elite passer next step in Terrence Romeo’s evolution

MANILA, Philippines – There was a time during the third quarter of the game between Mahindra and GlobalPort on Friday, February 12, when Terrence Romeo put on an absolute spectacle. 

Romeo’s gone on these scoring binges so many times over the past two years, but watching it take place right before your eyes every single time is still special.

There wasn’t enough of a crowd on this afternoon – after all, what did you expect from a 4 pm game on a working pay day Friday? But those who were lucky to be there early? Well, they got a treat.

First, he made a few easy layups on the break, with help from some miscalculated turnovers by Mahindra. Then he started bringing out his patented crossover moves: to the left, to the right, in between his legs, then disappearing in a flash before his defender could even try to guess where he was going to go next.

Then he started hitting 3-pointers. Buckets after buckets after buckets. 

After scoring 17 points by the half, he already had 33 in the third period in the blink of an eye. That’s Romeo for you – one of the most gifted scorers the PBA has ever seen, and quite possibly the greatest the league may ever have when his career is over. 

Romeo finished with 41 points, matching his career-high that he set against Alaska in last conference’s semis. But the final tally on the scoreboard on top? 111-98, Mahindra. It was an easy win for a team that won just two games last conference against a team that made the semifinals last conference and was expected to be on the rise. A team expected to make noise for a championship. 

“Wala, walang kwenta yung career high na yun kung talo kami,” a dejected Romeo said after the game. “Ang mahalaga saakin, panalo eh. Kahit ilan points lang ang nagawa ko, basta importante manalo.”

(My career high doesn’t matter if we lose. What’s important to me is winning. No matter how many points I score, what’s important is to win.)

That’s the kind of maturity you want to hear from someone who’s considered the next face of the PBA, especially after he used to get in petty fights in college with guys like Nico Salva.

Fights that made the word “bro” famous, and not for the right – but hilarious – reasons.

But there’s more maturing for Romeo to do. I’m not talking about off the court, because he’s made huge strides in that development.

He’s transformed his body from a chunky physique to rock-hard 6-pack abs. You no longer hear about him getting into fights on Twitter. All his teammates and coaches rave about his relentless work ethic and improving leadership – a constant problem when he was UAAP MVP with FEU.

I’m talking about on the court. Weird? I know, especially a day after he dropped 41 points.

Well, here’s another stat for you to help my case: Romeo had 0 assists against Mahindra. 0. His import teammate, Brian Williams, in his first PBA game, had 5. The Enforcers import, August Gilchrist, had 3. These are centers, by the way.

Should GlobalPort have more balanced scoring going forward? Romeo scored 41 but took 33 shots. The next guy who took the most? Stanley Pringle, who scored 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. No one else attempted 10 shots. Not even the big, hulking import.

“Importante yun,” Romeo said after the game about balance, “pero mas importante mas kailangan namin mag rely sa depensa eh. Kasi parang score kami nang score, tapos makakascore rin yung kalaban namin.”

(It’s important, but what’s more important is we rely on defense. We just kept on scoring but our opponents kept on scoring as well.)

He’s correct. After all, you can’t win a game by giving up 111 points – especially not to a team that hasn’t made the playoffs during its two-year tenure in the PBA. 

But it’s kind of hard to get consistent defense from everyone, every play, when they become bystanders a lot of possessions on the other end. Is that a knock on Romeo? No, because when the basket looks like an ocean to someone, you can’t blame him for taking – and making – a lot of shots. After all, scorers are going to score. 

Here’s the reality though: you can’t win that way. Not in the PBA. Maybe against Mahindra (the next time), Blackwater, or Phoenix. Definitely not against San Miguel, Alaska, or Rain or Shine. 

Someone from the Aces told me last conference that they knew their defensive game plan would work against GlobalPort. Why? Because they believed once Romeo got the ball and started dancing with his crossovers, it was trouble for the Batang Pier offense.

Make no mistake: they respected the dude’s ability to get buckets, but every time he looked to score, GlobalPort’s offense turned into a one-man rock concert, with the other 4 becoming disappearing in the background. And after the Aces sent double-teams, it usually ended in stops. 

The result? Alaska dominated the last 3 games, cruising to the Finals.

“Parang nag-expect din kami na, alam mo yun, nag expect din kami na syempre kailangan ma dominante nang import namin yung ilalim. Sa tingin ko, first game pa naman ni Brian yun eh. Alam ko yung kaya niyang gawin,” Romeo also said after the loss to Mahindra.

(We also expected that the important needed to dominate down low. In my opinion, it’s just his first game. I know what he’s capable of.)

The change he must make

Romeo also needs to expect more of himself. We already know how talented of a scorer he is. The next step in his evolution? Become an elite passer. I’m not saying he’s selfish or a ball hog. He does average 3 assists a game this season, and he does look for his teammates on occasion, even if a lot of those are bail-out options. 

But given his talent and ball handling ability to catch defenders off-balance unlike anyone else in the PBA, he can be up there with the best distributors in the league. He has the talent. He’s shown he has the patience and work ethic to be great at areas he needs improvement. If he concentrates hard enough on being a better passer, he easily becomes the second best player in the PBA.

Who’s the best? Well, June Mar Fajardo, of course, but that’s a given due to his towering physique. The second best right now? Jayson Castro, who once upon a time, like Romeo, needed to learn the balance between scoring and passing. 

Romeo can be better than Castro. He’s already a better shooter. He has more moves to catch defenders off guard and find cracks to the lane. No one is more creative than him when it comes to eluding the opposition – not to mention sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Twice in the Mahindra game, Romeo was able to rid himself of his defender and was met by 3 help defenders in the paint. What did he do? First, he attempted a wild reverse layup. The next time? He pulled up for a jumper. He made the shots on both occasions, but still failed to get the ball to open teammates who were open from outside – the right basketball plays. 

There’s nothing drastically wrong with Romeo’s game right now. He’s a top-5 player in the PBA, that much is certain. He’s the best scorer the league has today. He’s a superstar. Like his scoring outbursts, he’s quite special. 

But there’s a higher level he can reach; A level that will make him damn near unstoppable.

If he works a little more on being “Terrence Romeo, the passer,” then the PBA won’t know what it has coming for it.  – Rappler.com