Alapag happy to see Romeo grow under Gilas program

MANILA, Philippines -- In just seven weeks since Gilas Pilipinas began training under coach Tab Baldwin, Fiba World Cup veteran Jimmy Alapag said it is very clear for the world to see that the Philippines has a gem of a talent in Terrence Romeo.

Alapag, who has been dropped from the Gilas ‘final 12’ due to a quad injury, marveled at the stellar play of Romeo during the nationals squad’s last two tournaments, namely the William Jones Cup and the MVP Cup.

“He’s continued to improve and really adjust and that’s the biggest things for all these guys, especially for the new guys like Terrence,” Alapag told Philstar.com.

“I think Fiba just exposes Terrence’s talent. And you combine that with that killer instinct. It’s just the beginning,” he added.

From the Jones Cup, where the 5-foot-11 GlobalPort guard courageously battled taller and stronger defenders, to hitting big shot after big shot during Gilas’ triumphant conquest of the MVP Cup, Alapag said he can’t help but be excited with the future of Philippine basketball.

“When you have that killer instinct with you, you can struggle the entire game but you’re always confident to make the next shot. And basically, Terrence came through in the fourth quarter,” said Alapag, as he recalled Romeo’s scoring splurge to help Gilas pull off a come-from-behind 84-81 win over the Wellington Saints in last week’s MVP Cup.

The 37-year-old Alapag said he’s happy to see Romeo and even Alaska forward Calvin Abueva serve as Gilas’ ‘energy boosters’ right in their first stint with Gilas.

“That’s the nature of the program, to continue to get (new) guys into the program and gain these types of experience,” he said.

“If my leg wasn’t injured, I would love to be with the guys, but time just wasn’t on my side.”

Gilas, which is fresh from a five-day training camp in Cebu, will have its last practice on Sunday, before leaving for Changsa-Hunan in China the next day.

The national squad kicks off its Fiba-Asia men’s campaign next Wednesday against Palestine.