TNT has taken Jayson Castro out of the holster, as the Tropang 5G make a final push for the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup crown.
For the first time in the finals, Castro started in Game 4 where he asserted himself early, scoring nine points, including a pair of threes in nine minutes of action in the first half.
The 39-year-old Castro eventually finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while also grabbing three rebounds. The 23 minutes that he played were also his most in the finals.
The Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals MVP was a non-factor during the first three games, averaging 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. But as proven last Wednesday, he is now going all-out in the final stretch of the tournament, his first since recovering from a full tear in his patellar tendon.
“If you take a look at all our finals series, except the last couple of series where we didn’t have Jayson, we really tried to keep him off the starting lineup as late as possible,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
“We didn’t want to overextend him. We want to manage his minutes. But being down 2-1, we felt it was time for Jayson.”
Two-way Jayson
Aside from scoring and facilitating, Castro was also tasked to guard Barangay Ginebra’s RJ Abarrientos in Game 4, after being a second-stringer earlier on in the series and defending fellow reserves such as Nards Pinto.
“Ganun lang naman ‘yun. He is just ready whenever and whatever it is that we need from him. He knows that he had a bad game the last time and he got himself ready (in Game 4),” said Reyes of the 10-time champion.
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