HE did it again.
With Talk ‘N Text struggling in the first half last night, Jason Castro again came to the Tropang Texters’ rescue, doing almost everything in the final two quarters to spark a 79-66 Game 4 victory over Purefoods and a place in the Finals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Castro tied his career-high of 33 points built around a 7-of-11 clip from beyond the three-point arc while sustaining his role as spearhead of Talk ‘N Text’s three straight wins over the deposed champion Star Hotshots in the best-of-five series.
“He’s evolved into a great player,” Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico said in praise of his 6-foot point guard, who hit his final seven triple tries on Thursday night to finish with 27 in the Tropang Texters’ 111-107 Game 3 win.
“He makes it easier for everyone. Jason gives problems to the (opposing) teams and that’s a big thing for us.”
Castro paced Talk ‘N Text with 19 points when Purefoods won Game 1 then dropped a game-high 21 in Game 2 when the Texters tied the series. He averaged 25 points when the closely fought duel ended.
The victory closed out the series a game short from what most pundits predicted, and it put the Texters into a best-of-seven Finals series with an equally formidable Rain or Shine five starting Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Elasto Painters applied the broom on short-handed Meralco and will be coming into Game 1 rested for a full week, unlike Talk ‘N Text, which labored truly hard to take away the second of three titles the Hotshots won last year.
The Texters scored just 28 points after the first two periods and trailed by 10 going into the second half before Castro got going by dropping 10 in the third that got Talk ‘N Text back in the game.
He finished off another heroic night by tossing in 13 in the fourth—all of them in clutch situations—as he fell just five points shy of equaling the Star Hotshots’ 28-point output in the final two periods.
With Ivan Johnson hitting eight points in the fourth, including a string of five, Talk ‘N Text zoomed to the lead to stay at 62-59 with 6:25 left. Castro and Johnson, who had two in the third, combined for 33 points in the second half.
The scores:
TALK ‘N TEXT 79—Castro 33, Johnson 15, Washington 12, De Ocampo 12, Fonacier 4, Rosser 2, Alas 1, Williams 0, Aban 0.
PUREFOODS 66—Bowles 14, Barroca 12, Devance 10, Pingris 8, Simon 6, Melton 5, Mallari 5, Reacis 2, Yap 2, Maliksi 2, Pennisi 0.
Quarters: 18-16, 28-38, 45-48, 79-66