Castro hobbled by bruised rib in TNT’s defeat to Meralco

Jayson Castro. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/August dela Cruz

MANILA, Philippines — After a tremendous first half performance, guard Jayson Castro was unable to return to finish the job for Talk N’ Text on Saturday night, suffering a bruised rib.

Castro scattered 17 points in just as many minutes to keep the Texters in the game, but left early the second half as coach Norman Black opted to have him sit out the rest of the game.

“Walang contact (nung sobrang sumakit) yung ribs ko. Ako lang mag-isa. Pinahinga na lang ako ni Coach,” Castro told INQUIRER.net.

“Long season naman daw (sabi ni Coach Norman), kaya pinahinga na lang para makabalik pa ako,” added Castro.

The Texters eventually succumb to a 92-99 setback to Meralco.

Castro said he first felt the pain during a practice game last week just before the PBA Commissioner’s Cup opened on Friday.

But the Best Player Awardee of the PBA Philippine Cup didn’t have it extensively checked since the pain eventually went away.