PBA: TNT braces for possible Jayson Castro layoff after knee injury

Jayson Castro was stretchered out of the PhilSports Arena after injuring his knee late into Game 2. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MAKATI--TNT is now facing the possibility that Jayson Castro will sit out the foreseeable future after hurting his knee late into Game 2 of its PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals against Rain or Shine.

Despite surviving a late Elasto Painters comeback for a 93-91 win, Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes said it may have come at a price.

"It doesn't look good," Reyes said after the Friday night game at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

Castro, known for his flashy moves that earned him the moniker "The Blur", tweaked his knee after a layup attempt with 3:07 left in the game and TNT trying to hold on against ROS.

He was stretchered out of the playing field and was rushed to the nearest hospital.

"We will find out more now. I'm sure our medical staff is going to be hard at work tonight to give us a prognosis," Reyes continued.

Despite being one of the main attackers in Reyes's dribble-drive offense with TNT and Gilas Pilipinas, Castro has not been known to be ruled out injury-wise for a long time, which is why Reyes believes something was not right when Castro fell badly.

"Alam mo naman si Jayson, kung konting [sakit] lang, he's not going to take himself out of the game, so it appeared to me that it wasn't a good landing. So, hopefully, it's not bad enough to keep him out of the next game," Reyes further said.

Fresh from a 24-point explosion in Game 1, which was cut short by foul trouble, Castro put up 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists in Game 2, even as he was expected to step up in the clutch now that it was Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's turn to foul out in the wrong timing. 

However, Castro's late injury made the Tropang Giga's endgame situation even more precarious as they were eventually held scoreless in the final six and a half minutes of the game.

They only dodged a bullet when Adrian Nocum missed an open mid-range shot that could have forced overtime.

Despite the late hiccup, Reyes believes that TNT's defense made it hard for ROS to complete the comeback from a late 13-point deficit.

"In the end, even if we missed, at least we were not giving up fastbreak points, which is the strength of Rain Or Shine, and like I said, if we force them to a halfcourt game, then we have a better chance at defending, and that's what happened in the end," he further said.

Game 3 is on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, and as it stands, Castro's availability is questionable at best.

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