Tenorio on Romeo torching Ginebra: ‘It’s hard to stop a scorer in rhythm’

MANILA, Philippines – When Terrence Romeo gets going, it’s difficult to shut him down.

Veteran guard LA Tenorio had an inkling of what was to come when Gilas Pilipinas teammate Romeo dropped 14 points at the half and helped open an 18-point gap between Globalport and Barangay Ginebra in the second quarter on Sunday, December 12.

The Gin Kings climbed out of that rut late in the third quarter to tie the count at 65, but then came Romeo, whose triple gave the Batang Pier a 3-point edge heading into the payoff period, on their way to creating just enough separation to hold off the crowd favorites.

Romeo had 15 points in the fourth quarter alone to finish with a season-high 35 with 5-of-9 shooting from deep and 12-of-24 overall playing almost 39 minutes.

“It’s hard to stop a scorer in rhythm,” Tenorio admitted in Filipino after Ginebra’s 91-84 defeat to Globalport in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup.

“From the start of the game they already had rhythm. It’s hard to stop players like Terrence. When Terrence gets going, it’s hard to really stop him. 

“We just have to learn from this game again. These kinds of games, we’ll encounter more scorers like Terrence.”

Romeo, for his part, admitted he was motivated by the Ginebra crowd.

“I was forcing it a bit because I was challenged,” the fourth year guard admitted in Filipino. “I know that when it’s Ginebra, it’s always a tough opponent. They have good ball movement, everyone is capable of scoring, and coach Tim (Cone) is so good.”

Lack of focus

But Ginebra did not play like the team that won the Governors’s Cup two months ago.

The Gin Kings had 20 turnovers compared to Globalport’s 9 and so gave up 21 points off of those to the Batang Pier.

Tenorio said the team was not as locked in as it needs to be.

“We’re not that focused coming into this game. We know that anytime they can come out like that, especially the guards,” he explained. “At the start of the game, they pulled away already. We lacked focus especially on defense. We didn’t come into this game expecting that will happen.”

Tenorio, who posted 23 points with 5 rebounds and 8 assists, also rued the team’s slow schedule, which has them playing once a week and making it difficult to sustain momentum.

“We really have to come out strong every game. We have to pour out all of the rest we took in for the week,” Tenorio explained.

“I hope it doesn’t affect us. Instead of progressing, it’s like every week our focus level and intensity level go down. It’s still early but we really have to have a sense of urgency in these kinds of games,” he added.

Ginebra takes the court again on Friday, December 16, against Mahindra, while Globalport plays Blackwater on Wednesday, December 21. – Rappler.com