TNT decided to sit out top man Jayson Castro in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals match against top seed Magnolia as the veteran guard is set to undergo procedure on his knee.
“Yes, he will have to remove bone spurs on his knee,” said strength and conditioning coach Dexter Aseron Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena.
Castro, 37, showed up in the game in civilian clothes and watched from the TNT bench as the Hotshots ended the campaign of the eight-seeded Tropang Giga, 109-94.
The veteran guard played in eight of the 12 TNT games this conference, averaging 14.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, numbers that were good enough to still land him no. 17 in the race for the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award with 25.5 SPs.
But coach Jojo Lastimosa admitted Castro is being bothered by the knee that prompted him to use the former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay sparingly during TNT’s final game in the eliminations against Phoenix which it won, 116-96.
“Jason is still gimpy, masakit pa rin yung tuhod niya. But he gave his all in the first few minutes that he played. He was OK,” said Lastimosa of Castro, who only played nine minutes and scored three points in the game against the Fuel Masters.
Aseron said Castro will be out for three weeks following the procedure, but is expected to suit up for TNT in the Philippine Cup.
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