Castro leading the way for Gilas in World Cup qualifiers

Photo by Sherwin Vardeleon/INQUIRER

Gilas Pilipinas goes where Jayson Castro takes them.

Showing why he’s been hailed as the best point guard in Asia twice, the speedy playmaker from Bacolor, Pampanga has undoubtedly been the stabilizing force for the national team in the first window of the 2019 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Coming off a sensational showing against Japan, Castro once again dazzled in front of the home crowd, anchoring the offense for the Philippine side before taking matters to his own hands late to seal the 90-83 victory over Chinese Taipei.

But what drives Castro to perform at his best is his unwavering desire win.

“In my mind, I really just wanted to win,” he said in Filipino after torching the visiting Chinese Taipei with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists on Monday.

That passion was certainly evident as Castro led the Philippines to a 2-0 start joining reigning Fiba Asia champion Australia atop Group B standings.

And the 31-year-old Castro couldn’t reiterate more how important starting strong is for Gilas as they seek a top three finish in the group to proceed to the next round.

“With the new format, it’s really difficult,” he said. “The two games were must-wins for us because we know here in Fiba, every game counts, and once you lose, there’s a chance that you’ll fall out of the top three. So going into this game, whatever happens, we just wanted to win. Even though we had a bad first half, we played better in the second half.”

The Philippines may have remained unbeaten through the first window, but Castro said that the first set of games were an eye-opener for the squad as Gilas aims for a better performance come the second window in February, where a date against Australia awaits.

“Our first game (against Japan) was okay, but in this game (against Chinese Taipei), we played terrible on both defense and offense. We can’t execute our plays when the opponent is zoning. So in the next window, we have to improve our ball movement and calm ourselves because we’re too overeager,” he said.

“It’s just a good thing that with this format, we have a lot of time to prepare, correct our mistakes, and improve for the next games. That’s something we need to do if we want to go back to the Fiba World Cup and the Olympics.”