Serving as head coach of one of the new WMPBL teams, Terrafirma star Terrence Romeo rides the wave of women’s basketball together with his fellow PBA standouts.
Terrence Romeo made his support for women’s basketball evident over the weekend as he made his coaching debut for the PSP Gymers in the inaugural Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) on Sunday.
Though seeing his team lose narrowly against the Imus Lady Magdalo, 73-70, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion, Romeo and his coaching staff, which also included Vic Manuel, CJay Perez, and Arvin Tolentino, were able to cement themselves as allies to women empowerment.
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Moral victories aside, Romeo’s PSP Gymers made for an entertaining game against the Lady Magdalo.
Jewel Bartolo had the chance to cut the deficit to two for the Gymers when she got the hoop and the harm, 71-68, with 24 ticks left.
But Bartolo missed the bonus free throw which swung momentum right back to the Lady Magdalo.
Then, the Gymers failed to foul right away as Imus shaved the seconds away before Annie Pamaran was sent to the line with seven seconds remaining.
Pamaran coldly iced the game with two free throws that kept the Gymers at bay.
Despite the loss, it was a win for women’s basketball and allies like Romeo and company as the latest foray to establish the country’s first professional women’s basketball league got rolling.
The PSP Gymers are just one of 14 teams slated to see action the inaugural WMPBL Invitational, which is a prelude before the league turns professional later this year.
WMPBL CEO Manny Pacquiao was also present on opening day which featured a triple-header.
The other games saw the UST Growling Tigresses take down Discovery Perlas, 82-67, while the New Zealand Bluefire Valkyries drubbed the Cavite ‘Tol Patriots, 53-50.
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