St. Matthew Hospital
August 15, 2013
Romeo and Salva
A family emergency forced me to abandon work for the whole Wednesday. No basketball. No sports. No work. No Twitter. And boy, I missed a lot.
After checking out the day’s updates on Twitter, I found out that Far Eastern U’s unbeaten run of seven straight games had come to a screeching halt. No thanks to National U’s defense and a heart-stopping 59-58 squeaker of a win at resumption of Season 76 of the UAAP at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
It was an exciting game, yes. But the juicier part came after it. Not on the basketball court though but on Twitter. And between Far Eastern U’s Terrence Romeo and former Ateneo standout Nico Salva. Everybody probably know by now that they’re on a Twitter war. And here’s how it went.
nico salva @nickobesalva:
Romeo is back to his old self. Why dont u just give the ball to RR?
Terrence Bill Romeo @dReaLTRomeo:
@nickobesalva @ompongski bat di ikaw ang maglaro.
nico salva @nickobesalva:
@dReaLTRomeo naka limang taon na ako bro e. sorry. Tuloy mo lang yan. Ayos yan haha
Terrence Bill Romeo @dReaLTRomeo:
@nickobesalva hilig mo makasali e noh? Paki alam nalang yung game mo. Hindi naman kita pinapakialam e. bro???
For the uninitiated (like Sportsmaryosep), Salva was referring to Romeo’s decision to try to look for the game-winning opportunity and opted not to pass on his sweet-shooting teammate, RR Garcia (who was blow-torching the Bulldogs with 20 points that game) that led to a steal by NU’s Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., the reigning two-time league MVP, and the subsequent trip to the line for the hammer.
Sportsmaryosep will not tell you who is right and wrong but will try to analyze who is the better player instead. Of course, being the better player somehow makes that person credible. Which means, he’s the best person to believe in, and not the other one. And with the help of UAAP league statistician, the handsome, oh-so-lovable Pong Ducanes and his Smart Bro-powered team, here it goes.
Salva:
In five years, he averaged 9.2 points on a 44-percent shooting clip and 4.5 rebounds. His stats could have spiked a bit if he hadn’t played for a deep, talented and well-rounded team like the Ateneo Eagles, who, by the way, won five straight championships during Salva’s time. I’m not saying he’s the main reason why the Loyola-based dribblers ended up with the dynastic reign. What I’m saying is that he’s one of the reasons they’re winning at that side of Katipunan Road.
Romeo:
In all his UAAP years, he has normed 13.7 points on a 38-percent clip and 4.7 boards and 3.1 assists. He has never won a championship. Probably this year if the Tams went on to win it all. He could also end with the MVP trophy for all we know after posting career averages of 15.3 points, 5.28 caroms, 3.5 assists and 1.12 steals after eight games.
Prognosis: Individually, for someone who has scored 83 points once during his high school years, Romeo is the better player. But for as long as he couldn’t translate it to titles, he will remain incomplete. Look at LeBron James? He was hearing criticism like bees buzzing around his ears but as soon as he won a title, everything has been silenced, the bees quashed to honey. For a team player, Salva is the one. He’s also a winner during his high school days at San Beda. Turned a better player as soon as he stepped into the Ateneo campus. Salva, however, will never be a player like Romeo. As to the former Eagle talking about passing, here’s a thing. In all his years, Salva averaged ONLY 1.4 assists. So why talk about passing now if you hadn’t done it for five years? And oh, was it you Nico who called an Azkals’ game ‘boring’?
But hey, the only way you can measure a man from being better than the other, is their legacy. Salva has left one in Ateneo and San Beda in the UAAP and NCAA, Romeo hasn’t. So time to win championship Terrence and silence the lambs. Otherwise, go on Nico, talk about passing all you want.
Or better yet, why not play one on one and let’s see who is the better player? Now where is that popcorn Kiefer Ravena?
Follow Sportsmaryosep on Twitter: @JoeySVillar
(Photos courtesy of Filoil Flying V, Philip Sison and Nicholas Salva)
sportsmaryosep 
Maglaro muna siya sa PBA. Teka, tingnan muna natin kung may magda-draft sa kanya.
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I think Nico has the right to say that. He’s just saying his opinion and he’s actually stating a fact.
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True. It’s Nico’s opinion. It’s his Twitter account and he can say whatever he wants to say and he knows he might be bashed by that. Many people has been saying the same thing about Romeo, it just so happened that it was Nico he decided to tweet back so it became such an issue. Individually, Romeo is the better player but basketball is a TEAM sport and Nico has already proven he was the better TEAM PLAYER. His 5 championship rings and 2 Finals MVP awards prove it.
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‘ang pikon ay laging talo’ pero kagabi ‘ang talo, pikon’. 🙂
ang soreloser lang ni romeo hahaha
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As an athlete, you should learn how to accept criticisms and make them your motivation to get better, mainit ulo ni Romeo masyado! :p
Pero I’m surprised na hindi na pinahaba pa ni Salva, I expected a twitter war talaga but then again, that shows CLASS. Something FEU does not have. Remember the FEU asst coach who picked on, again, Salva? And the player who spat on Ateneo’s bench? Well..
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and since your comment already generalizes the whole FEU community.. let’s start with CARABUENA who is dumber than CJ Corona for pleading NOT GUILTY if everyone int the world, except for him I guess, have seen his CLASS-less act in video.. now, don’t talk about CLASS ACT if there are a lot of rotten tomatoes in your own basket.
Sampal sa iyo yan at sa Ateneo community!
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..and by the way, know the whole truth first before you comment on something.. it was Salva who started the fight.. sayang lang sa sobrang bait ng batang yan, di na nakaya pa ni Ronald Magtulis pigilan ang sarili niya.. siya pa nga ang lumapit at nagparinig sa Magtulis eh.. he started it all..
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I love this game!
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Just a thought on Nico’s assist vs Terrence’s. Sure, 1.4 apg is less than the 3.5 apg that Romeo averages but taken into account the roles they play and the amount of possessions the player receives or their usage then 1.4 > 3.5. Nico is a 4 who specializes in the midrange area and is not tasked to create much for himself or others while Terrence is a combo guard (1 or a 2 depends) and has the ball in his hands practically every time he’s on the offensive side of the floor, this makes his 3.5 apg being not enough of what is needed from him. Oh and Romeo has played more mpg than Nico which is another factor. This is similar to saying that a guard with 5-6 apg is a better passer than a highly above average big man who averages 1-2 assists less on less usage and minutes.
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I love Ateneo but Nico Salva is so mayabang :((
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agree, salva might have a point but he could have said it in a better way.
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People commits mistakes and Nico has proven a lot in his amature career. Romeo is learning to play unselfish this year. As FEU Alumnus We also have class and we do not boo our opponent school why singing their school hymn and tell us if you guys have class? and how about his cheap words with Assistant coach Ronald Magtulis? does that showed What you guys Calling CLASS???? Take note. We humbly took that 7-0 sweep during round 1. I Should say Haters gonna Hate.
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And we Never stressed the fact that Jerie Pingoy Joined your Blue Eagles…. You had your time. So it’s My Tamaraws’ Turn.
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I agree with Nico Salva pero mayabang siya. He tweets like a gay man.
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as an athlete ksi you must be humble and accept criticism to improve your self and be thankful na my pumupuna sayo para mas mging mgaling na player .
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Given the situation at hand, I think Salva has the right to say it and on point of saying it.
On that game, RR has the hottest hand; he was on fire! As a team, with a team mate playing that way, what needs to be done is give him the ball.
For Romeo, as a star player right now, he really needs to improve his way of accepting criticisms. It will just grow bigger going to the pros. I know his reaction was just a product of frustration because of a bad game. But he needs to chill out before reading criticisms. 😀
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As if naman namamasa yung Salva. Haha. Why don’t he just shut his mouth and mind his own game? Oo we can say whatever we want pero kaya nga may tinatawag na rational ability eh. We can say whatever we want pero kailangan intindihin mo yung mapi-feel ng sasabihan mo sa sasabihin mo. That’s true maturity. Siguro napi-feel din ni Salva na end na ng career niya. D-League hirap na, what more sa PBA. Tama yan Salva. Tuloy mo yang pag “aanalyze” mo ng games para after ng D-League may gagawin ka na. Basketball din pero di ka na player. :))
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nico salva,sa basketball mas ok maging humble kesa maging mayabang,ang layo ng laro mo kay romeo,kung yun si rr garcia or the head coach and the coaching staff ng feu hindi nagsasalita against romeo,bakit ikaw pa?gusto mo lang yata mapansin alam mo sa tutuo lang diko maalala kung ano ang nagawa mo sa ateneo,kundi ka sa ateneo naging player dika makikilala,ang layo ng basketball mo kay romeo,bago ka napansin sa uaap 5 years ang nilaro mo,tahimik kana lang at enjoy watching the uaap games, baka dun sa tolomia lang mahirapan ka,wag kang mayabang totoy at hindi ka naman magaling…
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Masyadong pasikat si Terrence Romeo this year, feeling niya parating siya ang savior ng team. Epic fail at nagbabackfire ang pagiging swapang niya. As for Salva, he didn’t say anything wrong in his Twitter account. May kayabangan din siyang taglay at hindi rin mahilig mamasa ng bola during his stay in Ateneo. Swerte niya at maraming uma-assist sa kanya noon.
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Hoy coach dj dont say na d magaling c salva baka kainin mo ung sinabi mo mgaling ka c romeo as point guard but the big question is did he bring any crown to feu in the past for years?? mgaling nga cia but he doesnt know how to motivate his teammate and wala cia leadership ability katulad ni salva aanhin mo ang mvp title if d naman nag champion ung team,always remember basketball is a team sport at ndi ng isang tao lang think before u comment
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hummm. kung one on one lang din naman paniguradong matatalo si salva. romeo is a good player. kaya nga mvp. ang masaklap lang TEAM SPORTS kasi ang basketball hindi one man sports, as a point guard (romeo) dapat tinitignan niya ang open man niya, it’s one of the factors kaya hindi nakapasok ng finals ang feu because of that. we call it “bwakaw” in ilocano. but as an athlete dapat marunong kang tumanggap ng criticism. for me nagbigay lang ng opinion si salva.
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