PBA Finals: Chot, TNT not surprised as Jayson Castro delivers

TNT guard Jayson Castro attacks the basket during Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Having shared countless battles with Jayson Castro in the PBA and the national team, coach Chot Reyes knows his prized ward like the back of his hand.

Reyes and TNT drafted Castro as the third overall pick in 2008 and the two have celebrated six PBA titles together in 12 seasons.

And even at this stage of Castro’s career at 39 years old, Reyes still has a good grasp of his veteran guard. Of course, he’s no longer who he once was during his prime–understandably not as explosive as his younger self.

READ: PBA Finals: TNT beats Ginebra, ties series at 2-2

But as far as Castro showing up in big moments is concerned, Reyes certainly knows that it’s a matter of when, not if.

“If you take a look at our last few finals series, excluding the last two when we didn’t have Jayson, we really try to take him out of the starting lineup as late as possible,” Reyes said after steering the Tropang 5G to a 106-98 win over the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings on Wednesday night that tied the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at 2-2.

“We don’t want to overextend him; we want to manage his minutes, but being down 2-1, we felt it was time for Jayson.”

READ: PBA Finals: RJ Abarrientos relishes chance to face Jayson Castro

Castro, who endured a long road to recovery after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee in last year’s Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, showed flashes of his old lethal self in Game 4.

He gave TNT a lift with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He went 2-of-4 from long range and grabbed three rebounds in 23 minutes after scoring just two points in a Game 3 loss.

“He’s just ready whenever and for whatever it is we need from him,” said Reyes. “He knows, himself, that he had a bad game last time and he was just ready for tonight.”