Now that Gilas Pilipinas have begun their daily grind in preparation for the 2017 SEABA Championship in May, veteran guard and outright leader Jayson Castro is more than upbeat, saying that it will help the youthful squad grow even more.
“Malaking tulong sa amin ‘to, yung everyday yung practice kasi malapit na yung tournament,” said the 30-year-old moments after Gilas’ practice at Kerry’s Sports Arena in Shangri-La at the Fort.
“At tsaka yung mga ‘di pa pamilyar sa system, ito na yung chance nila ma-[familiarize] yung sistema ni coach Chot [Reyes].
“Pero lahat naman nakaka-pick up na eh. Minor adjustments na lang naman especially on offense. Halos lahat, aware na kung ano yung dapat gawin,” Castro declated.
Gilas’ practices on a daily basis obviously make things tiring for the players, since they still have to attend to their mother teams’ own sessions earlier in the day. But the two-time FIBA-Asia silver medalist has no qualms about this.
“Okay naman, even though twice a day yung practice namin — sa mother team and sa Gilas — kay Coach Chot, more on system naman. Wala naman gaanong conditioning, kaya okay naman kami,” shared Castro.
Monday night marked the Nationals’ 10th overall practice session. But for the Asia’s best point guard, in all honesty, the team is still far from where they want to be in terms of cohesiveness and of each and every player’s grasp of the system.
“Siyempre malayo pa,” admitted the nine-year pro.
“Siyempre ‘di naman natin masasabi na okay na lahat hanggang walang nakaka-tune up or nakakalaban na iba.”
Now that the regional cagefest is less than 25 days away, Castro hopes that all of their concerns as a unit will be considered a thing of the past not only come the time of the tournament, but way before that.
“Oo naman. Kailangan namin. Kailangan namin makuha talaga. Siguro after ng All-Star break, dapat team na talaga kami.”
