Jayson Castro. PBA IMAGES
Jayson Castro was still satisfied with TNT’s campaign this conference despite failing to win the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup title.
“We still had a good showing despite everything that happened to us,” he said in Filipino on the heels of the KaTropa’s 105-115 ouster at the hands of Ginebra in Game 4 of their semifinals series on Sunday.
Castro gave it his all and poured in a near triple-double performance of 26 markers, nine assists, and seven boards in the game, but the absence of import Glen Rice Jr. was just too much to handle for TNT.
“He was such a big part of our team. Imagine that in our last game, he was virtually the one to carry us, and then in this game, he’s already gone in the first quarter,” he said.
“We tried to be there, but of course, came the fourth quarter, we were all gassed out especially on defense. But we still fought and we didn’t quit even though we no longer had an import.”
Still, Castro thinks the KaTropa’s spirited run this conference was an overachievement of sorts after dropping to seventh place in the team standings at one point.
“We were 4-3 and in danger of falling out of the playoffs, but we had four straight wins and that got us our momentum,” he said.
And Castro believes that TNT did pick up valuable lessons after its run this season, noting that if there’s one obvious thing the year did to the franchise, it’s laying the foundation for the team’s future.
“I still see this as a good conference because my teammates grew, especially Troy (Rosario), Mo (Tautuaa), and Roger (Pogoy),” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it through come the all-Filipino.”