I promise, when I’m injury-free, I will once again fight for the country and wear the Pilipinas jersey

He may not be in uniform for Gilas Pilipinas in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, but Jayson Castro is still eager to return to international play.

Castro, who was regarded as the best playmaker in Asia, hinted at a possible return, saying that he’s not yet done in competing for the national men’s basketball team.

Actually, he was part of the 15-man pool selected by Gilas coach Tim Cone to campaign in the biennial meet.

But he suffered a calf injury while playing for TNT KaTropa in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), prompting him to withdraw from the pool and focus on getting healthy for the crucial stretch of the Governors’ Cup.

With that, speculations flew that he’s already done in the international stage.

“Sorry guys if I can’t make it to the SEA Games. There are a lot of games in the future anyway,” Castro posted on his social media account.

“I promise, when I’m injury-free, I will once again fight for the country and wear the Pilipinas jersey.”

Shortly after including Castro in the roster, Cone admitted that he was excited to have him on board as this would have been the first time that they will play together.

“I’m just honored that he is here. Truly honored I’m excited to coach him, I never got a chance to coach him,” said Cone, the winningest mentor in the PBA with 21 titles.

“I never had a chance to get Jayson but after all these years, maybe we can do something here. I’m just honored.”