ADJUSTING to life after Jimmy Alapag hasn’t been too bad for Talk ’N Text, with Jayson Castro taking charge in the backcourt.
With “the Blur” comfortably assuming the lead role as playmaker this conference, Talk ’N Text has been a force in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, registering victories over Barako Bull and Barangay Ginebra in a span of three days.
The 28-year-old Castro tallied a team-high 16 points, including two clutch three-point baskets in the final period to lead Talk ’N Text to an 80-75 win and hand Barako Bull its first loss for the conference.
[See Late treys by Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier help Talk 'N Text deal Barako Bull first loss]
Two days later, the former Philippine Christian University standout dropped 31 points in the last three quarters before sealing his heroics with an interception on Mac Baracel’s inbound pass intended for LA Tenorio with 2.3 seconds left as Talk ’N Text scored a 104-103 come-from-behind win over Barangay Ginebra.
[See Talk 'N Text escapes with a win as Jayson Castro proves a thorn in side of Ginebra]
Castro averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the team’s back-to-back wins to earn the hands-down Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of Feb. 9-15.
The twin victories also moved Talk ’N Text to joint third place with defending champion Purefoods Star, halfway through the single-round eliminations.
Talk ’N Text will shoot for its fifth win this conference when it collides with sister team NLEX on Friday.
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