Fresher legs for the long grind
Compared to last season’s Philippine Cup, Jayson Castro’s numbers are down at almost all statistical categories. And it’s not for the lack of effort nor a bad run.
Under first-year TNT head coach Nash Racela, the Katropa have utilized almost their entire roster, everyone getting a fair shot to play. Castro’s minutes dropped from 31.8 minutes to 28.6 this conference.
Though it was hard for some of the team’s veterans to accept their new roles, it’s starting to pay off as seen in the TNT Katropa’s 111-98 Game Two win over the San Miguel Beermen to knot the best-of-seven semifinals series at 1-all.
The San Miguel Beermen have five players who average more than 30 minutes a game. In comparison, Ranidel de Ocampo logs in the most minutes for TNT at 28.5.
This for Castro is their advantage over the two-time defending Philippine Cup champions.
“Malaking tulong yun kasi since day one na pagkapasok ni coach Nash, inaano niya sa amin na equal opportunity at kailangan mag-contribute every time na pagpasok namin,” the 30-year-old guard, who finished Game Two with 10 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, told Tiebreaker Times.
“Ngayon, dito sa playoffs nagbubunga kasi mas fresh kami sa kanila. Yun yung chance namin sa kanila kasi alam naman natin heavy minutes ang nilalaro nila. At para maka-takbo kami, kinailangan namin na maging fresh talaga.”
In addition to the “fresher” legs they have, Racela’s ideology also helped give confidence to the team’s rookies and sophomores. The team’s young guns like Roger Pogoy, Moala Tautuaa, Troy Rosario, and, even, Frank Golla all had a hand in TNT’s first win over San Miguel since September of last year.
“Kelly [Williams] is locked in. Ang maganda is it started during the Globalport series. He studies the game plan and he understand what we are trying to do,” Racela remarked about Williams who made June Mar Fajardo “bleed” for his points. “But it’s not just Kelly, it’s a team effort. Mo [Tautuaa] did his part, Frank [Golla] also did his.
“It’s a total team effort.”
“Oo naman [committed talaga]. Since day one, lahat kami naniwala. Kaya naging maganda yung team namin. Dati yung mga player before, nagkaka-opportunity na makapaglaro,” the six-time PBA champion and TNT lifer Castro added.
And Castro knows that their commitment is not just for the short-term, knowing that this help them in the long run.
“At kung hindi man ito mag pay-off this conference, alam ko magbubunga ito sa mga susunod pang mga conference,” the Pampanga-native added.
