During the last two minutes of the TNT Katropa’s clash with the Kia Picanto on Wednesday night, Jayson Castro was pulled out from the match immediately after being subbed in. TNT’s ace guard had seemingly hurt himself after slipping down to the ground.
The freak accident was not a scary sight, but Castro being on the bench was gut-wrenching for the Katropa, as the game was still hanging in the balance due to the Picanto’s hard-to-kill desire to come back and threaten.
Thankfully for them, they had Castro’s back-up, RR Garcia, to save the night.
The 5-foot-11 guard scored his team’s last five points — highlighted by two straight lay-ups that doused cold water on Kia’s fiery 13-2 run late in the match — to help TNT avoid being chopped by Kia’s upset axe, 90-85.
“Nadisgrasya si kuya Jayson eh. Siyempre wala nang iba [step up] kundi ako o si kuya Kelly ‘di ba?” said Garcia, who finished with 13 points and five boards. “Wala kaming makuha e, kaya take charge na ako [nung dulo].”
For head coach Nash Racela, this is the kind of outing he expects from his former FEU Tamaraw, now that Castro is about to resume his Gilas duties for the FIBA World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers this February.
“We need that especially Gilas is coming up so we’re not really sure if we’re going to miss our guys, our three guys in some games. So assuming we miss Jayson in some games, then we need RR Garcia to perform,” said Racela.
“Today, especially in the end when Jayson was really tired, nandoon naman siya to deliver for us.”
Garcia, on the other hands, sees this as a challenge he welcomes. As a five-year veteran, he is hard-pressed to prove that the Katropa can still win games even without Castro, or his fellow Gilas mainstays Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy.
“Siyempre kailangan ready ako lagi,” said the Zamboanga-born cager. “Kasi dalawa lang naman kaming point guard dito.
“Siguro kailangan pa ng extra sa practice, hindi kailangan si Kuya Jayson lang aasahan namin.”
