Castro nears player award

JASON Castro moved ominously closer to a third Best Player of the Conference award after grabbing the lead in the statistical points race following a smashing performance against Purefoods in their Final Four series in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The fleet-footed Talk ‘N Text point guard, the hero in all of the Tropang Texters’ three victories over the Star Hotshots in the semifinals, finished with an average of 35.4 SP after 16 games at the end of the Final Four.

Castro, the BPC in the 2013 Philippine Cup and the Commissioner’s Cup last year, dislodged San Miguel Beer cornerstone June Mar Fajardo from the top spot with Paul Lee of Rain or Shine running third with 32.1 SPs.

Fajardo still wound up as the tournament’s best rebounder and shot blocker with averages of 12.6 and 1.9, respectively, while Castro emerged as the new assists leader with just over five feeds a night.

Before the Final Four, the battle for the BPC was being hyped up between point guards Castro and Lee.

But the impact of Castro’s performance against the Hotshots, where he reset his career-high with 33 in a Game 3 win, will certainly weigh heavily as the voting started after the semifinals.

Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra and Terrence Romeo of Globalport make up the list of candidates for the BPC.

PJ Ramos of ousted KIA Motors still led in the Best Import race, but with the Carnival out of the playoffs and Rain or Shine and Talk ‘N Text battling for the crown, the choice is now between Wayne Chism and the temperamental Ivan Johnson.

Chism, in his second tour of duty with the Elasto Painters, finished third in the SP race behind Ramos and Denzel Bowles of Purefoods, averaging 52.1 per contest as a replacement for Rick Jackson.

Johnson, who was fined P150,000 on Thursday after bumping Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in a 99-92 Game 1 win a day before, has a 51.1 average.

Meanwhile, Romeo Travis, a teammate of Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James in high school, was signed by Alaska as its import for the Governors’ Cup that opens on May 5.

The 30-year-old Travis will be coming off a stint in the Russian league with Krasny Oktyabr where he averaged 11 points and six rebounds per game. He played with James at St. Vincent-St. Mary high.