ANTIPOLO CITY – Paul Lee had just finished talking with reporters near a busy players’ exit of the Ynares Center when Romeo Travis was about to head toward that direction along with his wife and kids.
“Legend!” Lee said upon seeing Travis in a fitting description to the former Best Import’s courageous performance that catapulted the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the expense of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
No one, perhaps even the most diehard Ginebra fan, will probably argue that Travis’ 50-point game played with an injured hamstring was a stuff of legends.
He knocked down midrange jumpers and converted three-point opportunities with ease, much to the frustration of the Ginebra players and a legion of their followers who filled this city’s major showplace on a Friday evening.
Travis ended up with the highest scoring game of his globetrotting pro career, but more importantly, helping the Hotshots survive a gallant Kings’ attempt at forcing a deciding fifth game.
“I went through a lot of pain to play and it was worth it,” said Travis, who shared an emotional moment with Mark Barroca after the final buzzer sounded.
“That was emotional, to be able to make it through, get through the pain and make it worth it. It meant a lot to me,” added Travis.
It appeared that Travis won’t make it through on the eve of the fourth game that could make or break Magnolia’s bid to finish off Ginebra after he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring injury.
Coach Chito Victolero said Travis sustained the injury during Magnolia’s 107-103 loss in Game 3 where he was held to a PBA low 12 points. In fact, the Hotshots have prepared to tap former La Salle star Ben Mbala to serve as a backup import if push came to shove.
Mbala, who recently came from a pro stint in South Korea, is in town for some R&R, but Magnolia made a contingency plan of inserting the two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player in the event the series went to a deciding fifth game.
But those plans may have quickly been shelved after Travis started the game making his first two attempts, setting up a night to remember for the former high school teammate of LeBron James and the Magnolia contingent.
“Sabi niya sa amin, ‘Coach, don’t worry, I’ll do my best. It will get better now,’” said Victolero.
Travis said that a morning conversion with Lee, who was dealing with a hurting knee, paved the way for both to see action.
“Me and Paul talked this morning,” Travis shared. “Paul texted me at 6 a.m. and asked me if I was going to play. I told him if I can play, I was gonna play. He was like if you’re playing, I’m playing.
“We both decided at about 7:30 a.m. that we were gonna play and give it a go. It worked out because he made big free throws, played good defense. Everything just worked out you know?
“It was a very organic team win. It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t a lot of negativity in the team, it was very organic. The chemistry was great, even though we were down, we were not out,” he said.
The organic team win puts Magnolia in the finals against either Alaska or Meralco in December. Travis gets a chance to face either his former team the Aces or the Cinderella Bolts that refuses to put on a fight.
The Finals will be an opportunity for Travis to atone himself from a dismal performance in the 2015 Governors’ Cup Finals where his struggles contributed to Alaska getting swept by San Miguel Beer in four games.
“Last time I was here I laid an egg, I played very bad last time i was in the Finals. I want redemption, that’s why I came back,” Travis said. (Jonas Terrado)
