BUZZER BEATER

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By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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AFTER finishing at the bottom of the cellar in the last two conferences, GlobalPort Batang Pier is currently sitting on top of the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup with a 3-1 win-loss slate.
The current standing of the Batang Pier could be widely credited to Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Terrence Romeo, who has transformed from a one-dimensional shooter to a team player.
The strong scoring stats remain as Romeo averages 27.0 points in his first four games for the Batang Pier. But the added dimension to the former Far Eastern University star is his 5.0 assists average per game, including a career-best eight against the Star Hotshots.
“Terrence is a different breed. He’s really talented but right now if you look at the way he plays, he’s playing aggressive defense, he’s moving the ball around, he’s passing the ball,” said Batang Pier head coach Franz Pumaren.
“He’s slowly evolving into an all-around player. It will benefit him down the road,” he added. “He’s the new Terrence Romeo who can change the game offensively, make his teammates look good, and play defense.”
Romeo said that the change in his style of play this conference was upon the prodding of Pumaren, who had a one-on-one meeting with the two-time PBA scoring champion during the off-season.
“Sabi niya (Pumaren), kung kailangan na ako ‘yung mag-takeover. Pero kung masyadong tutok ‘yung depensa sakin, kailangan kong ma-recognize ‘yung open teammates ko,” Romeo said.
“Kasi doon mas mapapadali daw sa akin ‘yung basketball, mas mapapadali sa team,” added Romeo, who scored a conference-high 35 points in their win against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings.
Aside from Romeo, also contributing to the early success of the Batang Pier are their off-season acquisitions Rommel Niño Canaleta, JR Quinahan, Mick Pennisi and rookie Von Pessumal.
“At least we’re giving (Romeo) rest. I think he just played less than 40, not like before. We couldn’t afford to sit him down, same with Stanley (Pringle). At least now, the guys coming off the bench, they can hold their own,” Pumaren said
“Hindi ko pa masasabi hangga’t wala pa kaming napapatunayan. Ang challenge pa rin sa amin kailangan makita kami ng mga tao sa kung ano yung tingin nilang pwede naming ma-achieve,” Romeo said.
“Hanggat wala kami doon, one step at a time, basta ibibigay namin ang best namin. Then pag nandun na kami sa situation na ‘yun, dun ko lang masasabing pwede na kaming mag-compete,” the latter added.
Meanwhile, with a lighter coverage schedule on Monday evening, I was able to drop by the Makati Cinema Square where the Ferlenski Boxing Promotion of German Ailenn Syskowski had an interesting fight card.
In the main event of the stacked fight card, Filipino Argie Toquero hardly broke a sweat as he scored a first round stoppage victory over an equally experienced fighter Rey Ramos.
Ramos tried to break the defense of Toquero but the latter responded with lighting quick strikes that wobbled the former. Ramos then threw some wild shots but failed to find its mark. This gave Toquero the opening to unleash another razor-like finisher.
“Una sa lahat nagpapasalamat kami kay Lord na binigyan kami ng panalo,” Toquero told Buzzer Beater. “Gusto ko rin magpasalamat sa fans ko lalo na sa manager ko for inspiring me to continue with my boxing journey.”
This marks the second straight win of the Labason, Zamboanga del Norte-native boxer this year after previously beating Rufino Mante. Toquero lost to Japanese Rikki Naito earlier this year.
With the victory, the 23-year-old Toquero hopes to move closer to his third title fight after previously bagging the World Boxing Council Asia super bantamweight and Youth super featherweight belts./PN
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