Jayson Castro officially entered the PBA’s 10,000 points club during TNT’s do-or-die encounter versus NLEX in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal opener on Wednesday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The 39-year-old became the elite group’s newest member by nailing the first of two free throws at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter, marking yet another historic achievement for one of the league’s best playmakers of all time.
He’s become the 18th player to tally that many career points, joining a list that features some of the PBA’s all-time greats, such as Ramon Fernandez, Atoy Co, Alvin Patrimonio, Norman Black, James Yap, and Mark Caguioa, to name a few.
The Kapampangan star is also the third oldest to hit 10K after Sen. Robert Jaworski (43) and former MVP Arwind Santos (41), following a thorough check by PBA head of statistics Fidel Mangonon III through old records.
Santos, crowned as the league’s best player back in 2013, was the last to hit the milestone back in 2022, when he was still with the NorthPort franchise.
There’s also a possibility that another player could barge into the group this season, with San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo needing just 123 to make it.
The nine-time MVP could accomplish as much this conference, granted that he and the Beermen manage to overcome the twice-to-beat Rain or Shine and go all the way to the Last Dance–and with him ramping up his production.
The last time that two players hit 10,000 career points in the same season was in 1987, when Philip Cezar and Abet Guidaben became the fifth and sixth members of the club after Co, Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, and Francis Arnaiz.
