ALLAN THE MAN

Asia’s No. 1 point guard Jayson Castro said yesterday he was never approached by a supposed NBA scout for the New York Knicks evaluating players at the recent FIBA-Asia Championships here but if there’s a chance to try out, why not? Castro’s agent Danny Espiritu confirmed the scout’s presence although he, too, was not approached.

“I wasn’t introduced to him,” said Espiritu. “I told Jayson for sure, he’ll be approached during the FIBA World Cup in Spain.”

Castro, 27, is ripe for a shot at the NBA. Last season, the Knicks signed up 6-3, 185-pound Argentine rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni so they’re not averse to international talent. Prigioni, 36, started in 18 of 78 games, averaging 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Castro said he has watched Prigioni play on TV. PBA watchers rate Castro a more impactful player than Prigioni.

“I heard there was a scout but I was never approached,” said Castro in Pilipino. “I was focused on the tournament so I didn’t think about it. I don’t know if I’m good enough for the NBA. Of course, it’s every player’s dream to make it to the NBA and if ever I’m given a tryout, why not? I still have to improve a lot as a player. For the FIBA World Cup, I’ll work harder on my outside shooting and try to even be quicker. We’ll be up against taller and bigger players. The competition will be at a much higher level. Coach Chot (Reyes) wants us to reach the second round. We’ll give it our best. We’ll be out there fighting. We hope to win one, two or more games. Anything can happen. We just don’t want to get blown out. If we lose, we’ll go down fighting.”

Castro said he doesn’t know about playing in the Asian Games which will be held in Incheon on Sept. 19-Oct. 4. “Nobody has talked to us about the Asian Games yet,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll decide on that. If we go to the Asian Games, I think the World Cup will be a good preparation for us. We need to play a lot of games, better in a tournament, so we get stronger as a team. For the World Cup, we need to train longer than the two months we trained for FIBA-Asia. We want to make a good showing. Maybe, starting January, we can practice twice a week as Gilas even if we play for different teams in the PBA.”

Castro said what drove Gilas to second place in FIBA-Asia was Pinoy pride. “Coach Chot made us believe we could do it,” he said. “We weren’t intimidated by our opponents. We relied on our quickness, our system, our dribble-drive offense. We looked for our shooters, we worked hard on defense. Instead of being intimidated by our opponents’ size, we wanted to intimidate our opponents with our quickness. In Spain, we have to play 100 percent every game as a team.”

Castro paid tribute to backcourtmate Jimmy Alapag for his leadership. “We’ve played with each other for so long and won several championships,” he said. “He’s so humble and so talented. He advises me how to lead the team, we’re super close. When we play together on the court, the game comes naturally. He knows when to pass the ball to me and I know when to pass the ball to him. Jimmy’s our leader, that’s why he’s Jimmy Alapag.”

When Castro received his P80,000 Tissort titanium watch as FIBA-Asia’s best point guard at the end of the recent tournament, he was surprised. “I didn’t expect it,” he said. “Of course, I was happy but I didn’t play to make it to the Mythical Five. To me, individual honors are secondary, like a bonus. The FIBA president (Yvan Mainini of France) gave me the watch, saying I played very well, that I was a good point guard. I couldn’t believe it. All along, I just played my game, what coach Chot wanted me to do. It didn’t matter if I scored a lot or not, what was important was I did my best for our team and our country.”

Castro said the training camps in Lithuania and New Zealand put Gilas on track. “We had the best bonding in Lithuania,” he said. “We practiced twice a day, drills in the morning and games in the afternoon. We also had different team-building activities. Coach K (Kestutis Kemzura) was very good and we played against tough teams. We learned the European style and in FIBA-Asia, it helped us because a lot of coaches were European. In New Zealand, we made adjustments in our gameplan because we already knew our opponents in FIBA-Asia. Coach Tab (Baldwin) was also very helpful because of his experience in FIBA-Asia competitions. It was my first time in a FIBA-Asia tournament so I had to adjust to the rules particularly in traveling. The last international competition I played for the Philippines was the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.”

Castro said he dedicated the FIBA-Asia silver finish to his grandmother Esmeralda who passed away three years ago. When his parents Ronald William and Rosario Castro left for the US, Castro was in Grade 2 and left in the care of his grandmother and aunt Lolita in Guagua. His parents later divorced and his mother remarried in Alabama, giving birth to two children Ronald, now 12, and Marie, 10. Castro has another sister Nikki, 20, who lives in Louisiana.

“I wanted to visit my family in the US during the break but they’re working so I couldn’t really see them,” said Castro. “Anyway, my mother, brother and sisters came to Manila last December. Next year, my mother, brother and sister will stay in Manila for good. Only Nikki, who’s working now, will stay in the US. I haven’t spoken to my father in a long time. The last he got in touch was when I was still playing at PCU.” Castro’s father is a retired US Navyman who was assigned in Olongapo during his military tenure.

There is someone else whom Castro dedicated his showing to, his girlfriend. “She’s from Pampanga and working in Manila,” he said. “We’ve been seeing each other for about three years now. At the moment, we don’t have plans of getting married yet.” Maybe, when Castro’s mother comes home for good next year with his brother and sister, the time will be right for a wedding.

Castro said he’ll be back in a Talk ‘N’ Text uniform at the end of the month. “I’m taking a rest,” he said. “But I’m excited to play in the PBA again. I’ll play at the same level as in FIBA-Asia, relying on my quickness against the imports. It won’t be any different from FIBA-Asia. It’s the same game and I’ll play with the same intensity and determination.”

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