ANTIPOLO – Jayson Castro offered a glimpse of his recovery from a knee injury by putting up some shots before Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals between his TNT and San Miguel on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old took to the Ynares Center floor here and joined some of the Tropang 5G in loosening up ahead of the championship series’ opening salvo, which his team eventually won, 96-91, to gain the early lead.
It was a sign of a potential return soon, possibly during the Commissioner’s Cup that commences in March.
“Target namin, next conference, elimination eh,” he told reporters moments after the match.
“Sana, para at least makatulong din sa team.”
Castro admitted that he’s been missing the grind since going down with a patellar tendon tear in Game 2 of their Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series versus Rain or Shine, back on February 28 of last year.
That’s why he’s been making it a point to at least join the Tropa in their pregame warmups to get the feel of court action again.
“Kasi gusto ko ma-feel ‘yung game, at the same time suportahan din ‘yung mga teammate ko during warmup at tsaka mga pre-game shooting,” he said.
It’s been 10 months since, and Castro can’t wait to rejoin his team sooner, especially with his progress in recovery after clearance to resume some basketball activities ahead of time.
“Maganda ‘yung recovery,” he said gladly. “I think 10 months na ngayon eh. Target namin at least one year. Pero napaaga lang ‘yung mga activity na dapat ginagawa ko next month pa or next next month, nagagawa ko na ngayon.
“Parang na-feel ko na excited ulit maglaro kasi tagal na rin, ”di ba?” added the 10-time league champion.
“Maganda naman ‘yung mga result ng ginawa namin kanina, hopefully magtuloy-tuloy ‘yung magandang recovery ko.”
