Push Admin

PBA: To Romeo Travis, LeBron is ‘just another number in the group chat’

Article (news)

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/11/20/20181120-travis-lebron.jpg"/><figcaption>Was it a coincidence that, after Romeo Travis dropped 50 points against Barangay Ginebra, childhood friend LeBron James next hung 51 against the Heat? <em>File/PBA Media Bureau, Brad Rempel USA Today Sports/Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines—The 2018 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup finals has drawn attention from beyond the Philippines, thanks to no less than the best basketball player in the world. </p><p>NBA superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers shone a spotlight on the PBA when he posted a picture celebrating Magnolia&#x27;s triumph over Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals on his Instagram page. There, he congratulated Magnolia import Romeo Travis, his high-school teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary, who remains a close friend until today. </p><p>&quot;Headed to the Finals on a 50-piece nugget!&quot; James said, referring to Travis&#x27; 50-point masterpiece that anchored the Hotshots&#x27; 112-108 win in Game 4. &quot;Congrats, my brother.&quot;</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqP4D8Zh9jW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqP4D8Zh9jW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqP4D8Zh9jW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="margin:8px 0 0 0;padding:0 4px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BqP4D8Zh9jW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style="color:#000;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none;word-wrap:break-word" target="_blank">Headed to the Finals on a 50 piece nugget!! Congrats my brother @rometrav. Keep going Lucky Lefty. #FabFive🖐🏾</a></div><p style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kingjames/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px" target="_blank"> LeBron James</a> (@kingjames) on <time dateTime="2018-11-16T16:33:17+00:00" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px">Nov 16, 2018 at 8:33am PST</time></p></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>James also sent a separate shoutout on Twitter.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">YesSir!!!!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/101F6hlfXD">https://t.co/101F6hlfXD</a></p>— LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1063563771455655936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>&quot;The King&#x27;s&quot; support of Travis — and by extension, Magnolia — has gotten the team&#x27;s fans even more hyped for their upcoming title series against the Alaska Aces.</p><p>For Travis, however, James&#x27; tweet and Instagram post were simply his way of showing support for one of his oldest friends.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s just my friend,&quot; Travis said of James, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and three-time NBA champion. </p><p>&quot;You guys may know him as LeBron James, superstar, he&#x27;s just one of my friends, he&#x27;s just another number in the group chat,&quot; he added. &quot;When we&#x27;re in the group chat, we&#x27;re all equals.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So he&#x27;s just a friend. I don&#x27;t know any other way to put it, he&#x27;s as supportive as any other friend who support you.&quot;</p><p>And as friends, they do engage in friendly competition, even if they are in different leagues.</p><p>A couple of days after Travis put up 50 points, James hung 51 points on the Miami Heat in a 113-97 win for the Lakers. </p><p>&quot;I would like to think that I had something to do with it, but probably that. It was probably Miami&#x27;s bad defense had a lot to do with it,&quot; said Travis of his high school teammate&#x27;s effort. &quot;But I talked to him afterwards, and we joked about it.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re just happy for each other,&quot; he added. &quot;A little friendly competition is good. There&#x27;s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, a little trash talk, a little this, a little that. He sent me a message, talked a little trash, but it is what it is.&quot;</p><p>Travis, who scored 50 points despite dealing with a strain on his left hamstring, would not promise an encore in the finals.</p><p>&quot;Honestly, I&#x27;m not trying for that (a 50-point game),&quot; he said. &quot;I just wanna win.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I wasn&#x27;t shooting for 50, it just happened organically, and I&#x27;m just thankful my team won. If they need me to score 50, and I&#x27;m having a good day, then why not, you know?&quot;</p><p>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.)</p>

<p>LeBron James' support of Romeo Travis has gotten Magnolia's fans even more hyped for their upcoming title series against Alaska.</p>

LeBron James' support of Romeo Travis has gotten Magnolia's fans even more hyped for their upcoming title series against Alaska.

PBA: To Romeo Travis, LeBron is ‘just another number in the group chat’

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Sports

PBA: To Romeo Travis, LeBron is ‘just another number in the group chat’

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 20, 2018 11:08 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

2018 PBA Governors' Cup

Alaska

Magnolia

LeBron James

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.