Even in a losing effort, the dynamic duo of Globalport Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle got a heap of praise from Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
The grandslam coach described them as PBA's version of the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, collectively known as the 'Splash Brothers'.
"They are special," Cone said. "These guys are our version of the 'Splash Brothers.'"
Ginebra nipped Globalport in their first meeting at the ongoing PBA Governors' Cup 93-81 but not before getting seared in the first half by Romeo and Pringle.
"They were shooting threes right in our faces. We really had to toughen up to them in the second half and did that," Cone said, pointing to the 6-10 combined three-point shooting of Romeo and Pringle in the first half.
Cone had to put the veteran guard Sol Mercado to hound them defensively.
"Sol played tremendous defense. I hope I could break Sol in two and put him on Pringle and Romeo cause he’s the only guy, athletically and physically, who stayed with them."
Mercado's defense did the trick, as the Batang Pier duo finished the game with just three more triples than they made in the first half with Romeo missing all of his next six tries.
Still, Romeo felt humbled amid the compliments of the multi-titled coach.
"Gusto ko magpasalamat kasi galing yun sa isa sa mga pinakamagaling na coach sa atin na marami na ring napatunayan. Sana magampanan namin yun kung iyon ang nakikita nya sa amin," Romeo said.
Meanwhile, Pringle admitted that his shooting is something that he worked on during the offseason.
"I’ve been trying to work on my three game lately because I drive and a lot of people have been backing off me. Terrence is definitely there, but now that I’m starting to hit threes, you could say it a little bit that we could be (the ‘Splash Brothers’). But I’m still working on my shot," he said.
Now for Globalport, it is a matter of adjusting to to the new system implemented by team consultant Franz Pumaren and new head coach John Cardel.
"Honestly, with the system and everything, we play hard and the effort is there. It’s just getting the fluidity with the system and I think it’s coming and you could see it," said Pringle. "You’ve seen it today, so we just have to keep on staying together and focus on this next game."
Romeo admits, "Nandoon pa rin yung adjustment. Four days lang ako nag-practice so sa akin, may adjustment period pa. Siguro mas kailangan kong alagaan muna yung katawan ko at magfocus sa mga next game namin. Hopefully, matuto kami sa mga mistakes namin at mag-move forward lang."
Source: PBA
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