THE luxury of having a legitimate NBA veteran as an import guarantees nothing in the PBA.
So says Jayson Castro, who is hoping to find the balance between leaning on Bol Bol and getting enough local production after TNT fell to Magnolia, 106-94, in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Bol flaunted his NBA pedigree as he dropped 53 points on 23-of-40 shooting from the field, on top of 13 boards, five blocks, one assist, and one steal.
But only Calvin Oftana scored in double figures among the Tropang 5G locals with 18 points on 17 attempts.
In contrast, Magnolia had four locals who scored at least eight points apiece to ably support import Clint Chapman, who had 42 points on 28 attempts.
“Kailangan lang namin matuto kung paano kami maglaro with Bol kasi masyado namin lahat binibigay sa kanya,” Castro said.
“Makita lang namin yung balance ng with Bol and with the locals. I think once matutunan namin yun, maganda yung magiging result ng game namin,” he added.
Finally healthy after being out for more than a year due to a ruptured patellar tendon, Castro contributed five points on four attempts, three boards, three assists, and two steals, against two turnovers in 21 minutes off the bench.
The veteran playmaker admitted he himself needs to make some adjustments after the Tropang 5G fell to a tie with their conquerors at sixth spot with a 6-5 win-loss record ahead of their last assignment in the elimination round on Sunday against Barangay Ginebra at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Hopefully, makuha namin yung game namin sa last game ng eliminations and ma-realize namin ang lahat ng mga mistakes namin, and makapag-adjust kami, personally, kasama ako dun – marami din akong mga mali. As a team din, kailangan makita yung mali,” Castro said.
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