Aside from dropping Game 6 to the San Miguel Beermen on Saturday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, the TNT Katropa might have suffered yet another blow.
With seven minutes to go in the game’s payoff period, Jayson Castro was pulled out from the court, hobbling as he walked towards the bench after twisting his left ankle.
The speedy 5-foot-8 guard did not see action afterwards. And as the final buzzer sounded, the Katropa found themselves on the losing end of a 104-88 beatdown.
Despite not being able to finish the game, Castro was still TNT’s top scorer, producing 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting along with a team-high five assists in the 25 minutes he logged.
As of publishing, the four-time Best Player of the Conference has yet to know the extent of his injury. But he hopes that it will be nothing serious.
“‘Di ko pa alam kung ano yung nangyari. Siguro minor lang naman. Hopefully makalaro ng 100 percent sa Game 7,” said Castro.
“Okay naman ako.”
Moreover, Castro admitted that he had wanted to go back in the game and play after that injury, since the Beermen have been exploding on offense and were pulling away.
“Oo, kasi down na rin kami nun eh,” admitted the 30-year-old. “Pero siyempre, champion team yun, kailangan nila manalo this Game 6. So kami, mag-ready na lang kami sa Game 7.”
As the series now heads to a win-or-go-home affair, the six-time PBA champions will give it their all come Monday night, as the first All-Filipino Finals slot is at stake. And TNT remain confident that they can reign victorious over SMB.
“Yung mind ko pa rin [gusto maglaro] kasi ito lang yung opportunity namin. Sayang naman yung pinaghirapan namin the whole conference kung ‘di kami makakapasok ng Finals,” said the native of Bacoor, Pampanga.
“Confident pa rin naman kami na kaya namin silang talunin kahit na natalo kami ngayon. Adjust na lang kami.”
With the series heading into sudden death, the TNT Katropa can’t afford to lose Castro, who is averaging a team-high 16.33 points and 8.0 assists in the series.
