Terrence Romeo is worried that he may not be in tiptop condition when the Philippine national men’s basketball team clashes with powerhouse Australia and Japan in the resumption of its FIBA World Cup qualifying campaign in February.
The explosive guard, who already missed Gilas Pilipinas’ victories against Japan and Chinese Taipei last November, told InterAksyon that his injured right knee has prevented from doing any basketball activity for the past few weeks.
“Wala talaga akong basketball. Yun ang advice sa akin ng doctor,” Romeo said.
The GlobalPort Batang Pier star is currently having therapy, but he’s not sure if he’ll be 100 percent when Gilas Pilipinas plunges back to action in the home-and-away qualifiers.
“Ang worry ko nga dyan, if ever mag-continuous therapy ako for one month, kailangan ko pa rin maghabol sa timing ko and conditioning kasi wala talaga akong basketball activity. Even nga sa GlobalPort pasilip-silip lang ako,” Romeo said.
“I’m still doing my therapy, pagkatapos ng therapy, strengthening. Looking forward na makabalik agad ako sa kundisyon. Yung taas ng tuhod ko nagsu-swelling. Kailangan talaga ng therapy bago ang strengthening. Last conference pa ito masakit.”
Due to the injury, Romeo was reduced to being a fan of Gilas Pilipinas which still did well even without him. The Filipinos defeated Japan, 77-71, in Tokyo then downed Chinese Taipei, 90-83, as Jayson Castro and Kiefer Ravena served as the team’s primary ballhandlers.
“Nag-flashback yung kabataan ko nung nanonood ako sa mga idol ko. Hindi mo mapaliwang yung feeling. Para akong batang nanonood,” he said.
Romeo vowed to work hard and get back in shape to be able to finally help Gilas Pilipinas.
“Kailangan sipagan ko, mas pagbutihan ko. Times two dapat yung pagpa-practice ko kasi maraming kailangang habulin,” he said.
Gilas Pilipinas currently shares the Group B lead with Australia in the qualifiers with a 2-0 record. The Filipinos will travel to Down Under on February 22 before hosting Japan in Manila on February 25.
