Jayson Castro arrived with just 45 minutes to go before the tip-off for the TNT Katropa’s Game Seven semifinals encounter with rivals San Miguel Beermen.
He was considered late for the game, obviously, but he wasn’t bringing any luggage with him — not even his pair of Jordan Super Fly 4’s. Moreover, he was clad in street clothes.
As it turned out, TNT’s leading scorer sat out the do-or-die encounter as he is nursing a strained hamstring — an injury that he had sustained during the latter part of the series’ Game Six last Saturday.
The Katropa had to play through the whole 48 minutes without their top guard against the league’s powerhouse team. They were able to keep pace with the Beermen early, but were totally outclassed during the second half.
Castro sat helplessly in the patron section of the SM Mall of Asia Arena, watching his team get pummeled during a furious third quarter rally by San Miguel. And as the final buzzer sounded, the Katropa found themselves at the losing end of a 13-point beatdown, 96-83.
Safe to say, TNT missed the services of Castro, who had averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 assists in the past six games. But for him, there was nothing he could do since the injury needed at least 10 days to heal.
“Athlete lang tayo. Hindi naman tayo superhuman.
“Hindi talaga maiiwasan ‘yung mga ganun,” shared the 30-year-old, who vowed to start rehab within two weeks before the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup opens.
Monday night’s loss also marked the end of TNT’s hopes of going a step closer to the All-Filipino Crown — a title they last won back in 2013. And for Castro, he admits that he regrets that TNT have missed the chance.
“Oo kasi malaki ‘yung chance namin. Pero yun nga, nangyari lang talaga ‘yung hindi inaasahan. Wala rin naman tayong dapat sisihin dun,” said the six-time champion.
But nevertheless, the four-time Best Player of the Conference still lauded TNT’s effort despite the loss. Moreover, Castro sees the silver lining, believing that the setback will only help the unit learn and grow for the long run.
“Binigay naman nila yung best nila. Ang pinakaimportanteng lesson para sa amin, matuto kami paano magclose out ng series,” said Castro.
“Yun ang malaking lesson sa amin para pagdating sa susunod na playoffs, handa na kami.”
