Romeo fires 35 as Globalport downs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – Terrence Romeo never went cold on his way to a season-high 35 points as the Globalport Batang Pier handed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel a 91-84 defeat in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday, December 11 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Romeo, who also had two rebounds, two assists, and two steals, shot 5-of-9 from deep and 12-of-24 overall playing almost 39 minutes.

The fourth year guard had an answer to every Ginebra rally in the fourth as the Gin Kings tried to complete a comeback from 18 points down in the first half.

“Terrence is a different breed,” said coach Franz Pumaren. “He’s really talented but right now if you look at the way he plays, he’s playing aggressive defense, he’s moving around, passing the ball. He’s slowly evolving into an all-around player.”

JR Quiñahan scattered 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go with 9 rebounds, while Stanley Pringle and Niño Canaleta had 12 and 10 points, respectively, in Globalport’s third win in 4 games.

“I think my team is slowly maturing. We crumbled against Alaska. What a way to bounce back,” said Pumaren. “We just stuck with the system, we didn’t veer away from what we were supposed to do.”

The Gin Kings, who shot 5-of-17 from long range, had only Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio in double figures with 23 points apiece.

Aguilar had a near double-double game with his additional 8 rebounds plus two blocks, while Tenorio tracked down 5 rebounds and dished out 8 assists in a losing effort.

Ginebra, which fell to a 1-2 slate, turned the ball over 20 times compared to Globalport’s 9 and so gave up 21 points off of those to the Batang Pier.

Last conference’s champions rallied in the third quarter and tied the game at 65 late in the third before Romeo buried a triple to end that quarter and Globalport pulled away again in the final frame.

Scores:

Globalport (91): Romeo 35, Quinahan 15, Pringle 12, Canaleta 10, Mamaril 6, Cortez 6, Urbiztondo 3, Pennisi 2, Maierhofer 2, Semerad 0, Pessumal 0.

Ginebra (84): Aguilar 23, Tenorio 23, Devance 9, Mariano 8, Cruz 6, Mercado 5, Thompson 4, Caguioa 2, Ellis 2, Taha 2, Ferrer 0, Helterbrand 0.

Quarter scores: 23-22, 53-36, 68-65, 91-84.

– Rappler.com