Jayson Castro remains committed to extending TNT Tropang 5G’s reign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup as he nears the 10,000-point milestone in his career.
The 39-year-old Castro told DAILY TRIBUNE that he is grateful to have reached the milestone, which serves as a testament to his impact on Asia’s first professional basketball league and on the Tropang 5G, who selected him third overall in the 2008 Rookie Draft.
But all of it would mean little if they fail to beat topseed NLEX in their quarterfinal clash today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“I’m just really grateful and blessed that I’ve reached this point in my career. Actually, for me, one of my goals has always been to win championships. Those personal achievements are just bonuses,” Castro said.
“Our sense of urgency on defense has to be present because I think that’s where we can’t afford to relax.”
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, Castro currently has 9,992 points and is poised to become the 17th player to join the elite 10,000-point club, which includes legends like Ramon Fernandez, Sonny Jaworski and Allan Caidic.
Since joining the league in 2008, Castro has become one of TNT’s pillars, winning 10 PBA titles on top of three Finals Most Valuable Player awards, five Best Player of the Conference plums and one-time scoring champion.
Castro was likewise named to the Mythical First Team five times, earned three Mythical Second Team selections and won the Order of Merit award twice.
His biggest achievement came in 2015 when he was included in the PBA’s Greatest Players list during the league’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Castro remains hopeful that TNT can pull off a victory against the Road Warriors.
“We saw during our last game in the eliminations that we’re getting better. We got the balance between moving the ball and our defense,” Castro said.
“I think one of our adjustments is to really out-defend their offense because NLEX is playing well. One key to winning is stopping their transition game because they’re really good there.”