Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Gilas Pilipinas leaned on young gun Terrence Romeo to pull off a come-from-behind 84-81 victory over New Zealand pro club Wellington Saints in the MVP Cup on Saturday (September 12).
Romeo, who finished with 18 points, shot four three-pointers in the final period including two in the final stretch to put Gilas on top for good, 78-76.
He botched the next four free throws after that, but it didn’t bother the spitfire guard when he munched the last shots from the foul line that sealed the win for the Filipinos.
“I believe in Terrence Romeo,” said Gilas coach Tab Baldwin of Romeo, who has been the team’s main offensive weapon since the 37th William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
“As a coach you believe in your players. What you saw was a team prepared to fight to win.”
Indeed, Gilas showed resilience as it always has.
The Filipinos, who climbed back from a 13-point deficit, grabbed solo lead in the pocket tournament with a spotless 2-0 win-loss tally.
The China-bound Gilas will face Chinese Taipei on Sunday (September 13) hoping to wrap up the tilt with a perfect record.
But the team will need all the support it can get from the Filipino fans in the game that will serve as sendoff for Gilas.
“Because that game (against Taipei) is significant, I want the venue to be full tomorrow. This team deserves that kind of support,” said Baldwin, whose team is eyeing a gold medal in the FIBA Asia Championship for the region’s only ticket to the 2016 Olympics.
