ROMEO, OFFICIALLY NOW A BEERMAN ,
TERRENCE ROMEO is now officially with San Miguel Beer (SMB) after a five-member panel formed by the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Commissioner’s Office approved on Wednesday the SMB-TNT trade that involved two other players and future draft picks.
Commissioner WIllie Marcial headed the five-man panel that scrutinized the deal that shipped Romeo to the Beermen in exchange for Brian Heruela, David Semerad and SMB’s 2021 first round picks.
Drafted fifth overall in 2013, the threetime scoring champion played for more than four seasons for GlobalPort until he was sent to TNT for big man Moala Tautuaa after a turbulent relationship with Batang Pier management and coaching staff.
The 26-year-old Romeo, a former Far Eastern University King Tamaraw, averaged 21.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the Governors’ Cup for the KaTropa. But the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015 and wound up a dismal ninth place.
Romeo is expected to bring his act in the guard position for San Miguel Beer, which includes veteran playmaker Alex Cabagnot.
Heruela, on the other hand, will form a potential backcourt tandem with Jayson Castro, while Semerad will reunite with his twin brother Anthony.
Beefing up the Beermen are Paul Zamar and Ronald Tubid, who also got the green light in the Beermen’s other deals.
San Miguel Beer gave up its second-round picks in 2021 and 2022 to Blackwater to acquire Zamar, while parting ways with Keith Agovida for Tubid from Columbian Dyip.
Romeo, Zamar and Tubid now form a strong team backcourt with Cabagnot, fourtime Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, Christian Standhardinger, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos.
The Beermen are seeking a fifth straight Philippine Cup next season.
Zamar was drafted in the fourth round by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the 2012 draft when Fajardo was the No. 1 pick, but never got to strut his wares in the league.
He journeyed in several leagues, first in the PBA D-League before packing his bags for Bangkok where he became a star for the Mono Vampires in the Asean Basketball League.
With his star shining overseas, Blackwater tapped Zamar, who immediately made an impact in the previous Governors’ Cup. At San Miguel, Zamar gets the chance to play under his dad, Assistant Coach Boycie, who like his son was a former University of the East star who played alongside Allan Caidic and Jerry Codinera in the 1983-1984 University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion team.
NorthPort, meanwhile, wasted no time signing up former San Beda star Robert Bolick to a maximum two-year contract for rookies which guarantees the player a maximum of P150,000 a month in salary in his first year and P220,000 in his sophomore year. Bolick’s teammate, forward Javee Mocon, and National University’s Jayjay Alejandro, on the other hand, inked three-year contracts with Rain or Shine.
The Batang Pier obviously wanted to add power to their backcourt with the acquisition of Bolick as the third pick in the first round.
After Romeo left last year, Stanley