Reyes glad to have Castro, Oftana back

TNT head coach Chot Reyes got some pressure off his back with the return of veteran Jayson Castro and Calvin Oftana to help the defending champion get its Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup playoffs bid back on track.

Oftana exploded for 31 points to lead the Tropang 5G to a 116-92 walloping of Terrafirma on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in his first game since being sidelined by multiple injuries, including hamstring issues, since June.

Castro, meanwhile, saw limited minutes but showed flashes of brilliance to help the cause.

“Slowly, we’re having our players back,” Reyes said after the win that improved the TNT’s Group A record to 5-4 tied with Converge in third to fourth.

Oftana, who was coming off a stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, scored 16 points in the first half to pave the way to the Tropang 5G’s convincing victory.

His game complemented the rousing debut of replacement import, Nick Hornsby, who had 26 markers.

“It felt like it was my rookie year. I was so excited,” Oftana said.

“My last game was I think last June. I’m just happy we won and we’re able to execute our game plan,” he added.

TNT avenged its overtime upset loss to the Dyip in the first round.

On the other hand, Castro showed no signs of rust after a four-month layoff.

The 40-year-old court general had a couple of quick steals and scored two points, all in the first quarter where TNT set the tone for the rout.

“My ankle was really swollen and it hit a lot of ligaments. So, I tried not to force it in the early part of the elimination,” Castro said, recounting his ankle injury he sustained during the Commissioner’s Cup finals.

“The good thing is I got time to rest and recover since the long break,” Castro added.

“No more pain. Actually, even in my knee injury. I feel this conference that I’m 100 percent in full health. So, hopefully I could sustain that.”