Jayson Castro’s impressive Gilas return dampened by tough loss to Iran

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

There was no stopping Jayson Castro against Iran on Monday night and apparently, not even a sprained ankle could slow him down.

Castro was spectacular in his return for Gilas Pilipinas after a three-game suspension, dazzling his way to 19 points on top of five rebounds, two assists and a steal in less than 25 minutes.

What made his performance more impressive is that he hurt his ankle in the second quarter that went unnoticed especially when he put up 15 points in the second half alone.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas falls to Iran anew, goes 0-2 at home

He also suffered a cut after getting hit on the head early in the fourth quarter.

“Of course, getting injured is an excuse for you not to play anymore so I really pushed through to help the team,” Castro, who went 8-of-14 from the field, said in Filipino.

The 32-year-old guard nearly won it for the Philippines, which blew a 60-52 lead in the fourth quarter and gave up nine points in the final minute.

READ: ‘Dejected’ Gilas has ‘no one to blame but ourselves

“That’s just how it goes. We did everything and we gave our best. Unfortunately, we lost,” he said.

“But we controlled the whole game and it was only with less than a minute left where we made some mistakes and at the same time they made tough shots. We just need to learn from our mistakes and try to win the last window.”