TNT won’t hesitate to defer to Jayson Castro for the win.
Regardless of the result.
Acting head coach Sandy Arespacochaga offered as much after the Tropang Giga went to their main man in an attempt to snatch another one against San Miguel in Game Three of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Friday night.
There was no endgame magic from the ‘Blur’ this time around, with his shot missing as time expired. The match went into overtime and the Beermen found an extra gear on the way to the 108-100 win – and the 2-1 series lead.
“Of course, you give Jayson the ball,” said the veteran mentor moments after the loss at the Mall of Asia Arena. “With the opportunity to make a play in the last play, of course, you do that. He missed but next time, do that again.”
“That’s Jayson. He won lots of games for us,” he added.
The ‘Blur’ did save the Tropang Giga many times in the past, most recently in the opening salvo of the best-of-seven title series last Sunday. That saw him beat the buzzer to tow his side to the pulsating 86-84 victory.
So, it was inevitable that his crew deferred to him yet again, with 11.7 seconds to work with. But the Beermen knew very well of that plan. Jericho Cruz was there to disturb Castro and not allow him to set up a proper shot.
Then again, it was ‘the right play to do’ for TNT.
“That’s the right play to do. Like I said, if the same situation happens, you give the ball to Jayson,” said Arespacochaga.
“We feel that percentage-wise, it’s a high-percentage play and something good will happen to us.”
Luck wasn’t on their side but the Tropang Giga are moving on. They now have their sights set on Game Four this Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, where they will welcome back head coach Chot Reyes.
“The most important thing for us right now is what’s next,” said Arespacohaga, who manned the sidelines in lieu of Reyes in Games Two and Three. “Tapos na ‘yung game. We’re down 1-2. And we have Coach Chot coming back.
“That’s a very big boost for us.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
