SMART CLARK GIGA CITY — Jayson Castro admitted that the resumption of the PBA season has been challenging for him.
According to the 34-year-old, he wasn’t at a hundred percent entering the bubble mounted at his home province. And it showed, as he had to sit out some games due to a nagging calf injury.
“Nung start ng bubble, hindi masyadong healthy. During the bubble, puro rehab at tsaka activation lang ako,” Castro shared.
His health was one of the questions for TNT heading into its semifinal clash versus Phoenix Super LPG. Back in the quarterfinals against Alaska, Castro only played for over 17 minutes, since head coach Bong Ravena was managing his playing time.
But based on his outing on Wednesday, the decorated floor general faces no further fitness issues.
Castro showed the young ones how it’s done, taking over down the stretch to tow the Tropang Giga to a 95-92 victory. And more importantly, they clinched a 1-0 lead over the Fuel Masters in the race-to-three series.
The five-time BPC awardee scored seven of TNT’s last eight points, including the freebies with five seconds left for the knockout blow. He finished with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
“His leadership… ‘Yun ang mga kailangan namin from Jayson eh. Execution, making good decisions. We’re just fortunate na na-shoot niya ‘yung very important baskets,” lauded Ravena.
The seasoned bench tactician also felt that managing Castro’s minutes helped lead to his big outing. Castro played for a total of 29 minutes and nine seconds in the series opener.
“Malaking bagay,” said Ravena. “Like in our previous games, napapahinga namin si Jayson, and especially going to the semis. Alam namin na hindi na madali ‘yung mga games eh.
“So as much as possible, we had to keep him well-rested para ready siya every game, and in long minutes he will last, especially sa end of the game,” he added.
“So it really matters, ‘yung pahinga ni Jayson.”
But even if he was the main reason behind the triumph, Castro, ever selfless, deflected the credit to his teammates, whom he expressed gratitude to for the support he received from them while he worked his way back into form.
“Malaking bagay ‘yung support nila talaga — ‘yung mga teammates ko,” he said.
“Since [nagsimula itong] bubble, we play as a team talaga. Tsaka ine-encourage nila ako lagi na kung ano ‘yung kaya kong gawin, gawin ko lang.”
