Castro, TNT unfazed ahead of quarters duel vs top seed SMB

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

TNT may be coming in as underdogs in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals, but Jayson Castro is undaunted by the strength of San Miguel as he still likes his team’s chances in the playoffs.

“We still have a chance. We know how they play because we always face them in the semifinals,” he said after the KaTropa crushed Phoenix, 118-97, in their knockout duel for the last quarterfinals spot on Sunday.

Castro, who had a near-triple-double effort of 17 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in the rout, harked back to TNT’s elimination duel against San Miguel in Iloilo, where the KaTropa just fell short in the end to absorb a 88-76 loss last January 13.

“The fourth quarter was where our problems were. We need to learn how to finish the game after holding on to the lead for the most part of the game. We were up by two in the last two minutes but we still lost, so it’s a lesson for us to correct that,” he said.

What’s working in TNT’s favor is its victories in do-or-die games over the past week, which also included a blowout win over NLEX

Those experiences are where the star playmaker is drawing his confidence ahead of the date against the Beermen, which are armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

“We have to be able to execute our offense because defensively, we’ve had a good rotation that we’re being able to disrupt the opponent’s flow,” Castro said. “I hope the result will once again be good for us.”

TNT takes on San Miguel on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.