IT was already a little past 11 p.m. when Jayson Castro emerged from the TNT dugout following a Game 6 win over Barangay Ginebra in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Sunday night.
Already without Calvin Oftana and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser due to injuries, TNT also saw Castro leave the game early in the final quarter after rolling his left ankle when he accidentally stepped on the foot of Justin Brownlee.
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Castro, who will turn 40 on June 30, was playing his first full conference since he sustained a patellar tendon tear in his right knee last season that kept him out for more than a year.
But the three-time Finals MVP allayed fears of a serious injury, and declared he intends to play in the winner-take-all Game 7, even for only for limited minutes, at least for now.
“Chineck lang pero good news, may maga pero itatry namin makalaro sa Wednesday. Maging ready lang para kailanganin ni coach, ready naman,” said Castro.
“Typical na sprained ankle. Namaga siya pero wala namang something na na-ano sa mga ligament,” said Castro.
“Hopefully, this Game 7, makalaro uli kahit mga ilang minutes lang para makatulong sa team ko,” Castro said.
TNT coach Chot Reyes also hopes that Castro will be able to be healthy enough to play in Game 7.
“The problem is, we might lost Jayson again,” said Reyes during the postgame press conference. “Buti na lang one game left because we are losing men quicker than I’m losing hair.”
“That’s really a point of concern for us,” Reyes added.
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