EVEN before he sets foot on an official NCAA court as a member of the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, rookie EJ Castillo has already carved quite a following owing to his strong presence on social media.
But unlike the ones which went viral before – be it for their highflying skills, or just straight up plain wizardry on the basketball court, the 19-year-old is making his presence felt by doing something that’s a bit more simple.
By consistently hitting mid-range shots.
In a basketball era that continues to expand further and further away from the rim, it’s always refreshing to see what many consider as the lost-art of the mid-range game live on in some of the players in this generation.
And the pride of Cavite attributed his fondness for those ‘middies’ to his days in bush leagues and money games in Imus.
With Philippine streetball often prohibiting ‘and-ones’ to mitigate cheating players taking advantage of the own-call system, and defenders taking advantage of that rule by hacking all players driving to the rim – Castillo shared how he had to adjust.
“Samin sa Imus uso yung larong pustahan talaga at pag dumrive ka kasi, fa-foulin ka talaga e,” Castillo shared to SPIN.ph.
“So ang ginagawa ko, mid-range, mid-range lang talaga para walang foul. Hanggang sa tine-training ko na siya palagi, nanood ako ng film.”
Cavite Mamba In The Offing?
It’s not surprising to hear whose film he’s watching.
At age 19, he probably wasn’t old enough to witness Kobe Bryant’s prime but thanks to technology, he didn’t have to.
Enamoured with the tales of the legendary ‘Black Mamba,’ Castillo shared how he took advantage of YouTube to watch all the Kobe clips, absorbing everything that he can, practicing it to a tee and applying it each time he steps on the court.
With Kobe being one of the greatest mid-range operators in basketball history, it’s no surprise to see his tendencies come out in Castillo’s game – evident in his final year with the EAC Brigadiers where he led the squad in scoring.
Averaging close to 19 points a game, only a tenth of his shots came from downtown as he made a healthy 59 out of 115 makes from twos compared to just making four of 13 overall in threes.
He’s been so good at the mid-range that fans online have bestowed the tag ‘Kobe ng Imus’ on him.
“Siguro lahat ng YouTube videos tungkol kay Kobe, napanood ko na e. Lahat talaga. Kung meron akong bad game, papanoorin ko rin yung bad game niya para nakikita ko yung reactions niya kung paano siya bumawi,” he said. “Bata pa talaga ako idol ko na talaga siya.”
He idolizes Kobe so much that he vows to have that same confidence that the Lakers legend always had even when he came in as a raw but ultra talented 18-year-old in the NBA.
He even plans to revert back to No. 8, signalining Kobe’s rookie year with LA.
“Yes po,” he responded with a smile when asked if he possesses that Mamba-like confidence when he was young.
“Yung rookie season niya pinapanood ko ngayon. Ngayon nagpalit po ako ng number, number ko po eight kasi rookie palang.”
So does that mean he’ll be wearing No. 24 in the latter part of his collegiate career?
“Siguro, pwede po,” he said laughing heartily.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
