MANILA, Philippines – Wins have been hard to come by for Terrafirma, but veteran guard Terrence Romeo opts to stay optimistic amid the Dyip’s persistent struggles.
Terrafirma stayed winless in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after running out of gas against guest team Hong Kong Eastern, absorbing a 134-110 loss at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, January 17.
It was a result that put the Dyip, who fell to 0-11, a loss away from finishing a conference without a single win for the third time in franchise history.
“This is a learning process,” said Romeo, who got acquired by Terrafirma through a trade before the tournament. “For me, we just need to figure out how we’re going to work as a team — chemistry and everything.”
“I’m positive about my teammates. This is a talented group of guys.”
Terrafirma showed signs of life early as it pounced on an Eastern side that lost import Chris McLaughlin in the opening quarter due to an ankle injury, grabbing a 51-50 lead with a minute remaining in the second frame.
But the Dyip slowly unraveled in the last two periods.
Eastern mounted an 88-79 advantage at the end of the 3rd quarter and pulled away for good in the final salvo, where the foreign squad exploded for 45 points to extend its lead to its biggest at 131-102.
Ramon Cao paced Eastern with 23 points and 7 rebounds, Kobey Lam put up 20 points and 10 assists, while Steven Guinchard fired 20 points off 5 three-pointers and 1 four-pointer.
Hayden Blankley added 16 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals for Eastern, which improved to 7-3 to forge a three-way tie with NorthPort and Converge for the second spot.
Import Brandon Edwards posted 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead Terrafirma, with locals Aljun Melecio and Stanley Pringle backstopping him with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
For his part, Romeo — who sat out the first eight games of the conference due to a calf injury — chimed in 8 points in the loss.
Romeo and the Dyip can still salvage their campaign as they face TNT in their final game on January 22 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“We’ll go all out. We’ll give it our best. The last game may be our way to get our confidence. It is a big deal for all of us,” said Romeo.
The Scores
Eastern 134 – Cao 23, Blankley 23, Lam 20, Guinchard 20, Zhu 13, Pok 11, Leung 9, Yang 7, Chan 6, Xu 4, Cheung 3, McLaughlin 2
Terrafirma 110 – Edwards 26, Melecio 17, Pringle 16, Sangalang 13, Ferrer 12, Carino 9, Romeo 8, Paraiso 3, Hernandez 3, Manuel 2, Catapusan 1, Nonoy 0.
Quarters : 24-24, 57-53, 88-79, 134-110.
– Rappler.com