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(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Consider yourself warned.

Talk'n'Text Tropang Texters' lead point guard Jayson Castro (William) has been on a tear this conference and his team could've easily been 4-1 instead of 3-2 (no thanks to old teammate and now Ginebra star Japeth Aguilar). It's pretty clear that Castro is trying to put the past behind him-- unable to "follow up" on his FIBA Asia "Best point guard in Asia" tag upon his Texters return last conference. There are no excuses really, since the guy who is now considered his full-on rival and widely recognized today as the "Best point guard in the Philippines" L.A. Tenorio, served flag and country just the same.

Surely, you can't be the "Best in Asia" if there's someone else who is considered better in your own country right?

In five games, Castro is averaging an outstanding 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 32 minutes while hitting a 52% clip from deep.

While Tenorio focuses on spreading the wealth and running the show for Ginebra, Castro seems to finally have gotten the message. He now understands his role on the Texters: from de facto sparkplug to lead point guard, specially now that veteran teammate Jimmy Alapag nears his 40s. That's not a jab on Alapag and his immortality, but for the Texters to remain formidable, they need Castro to be at his best and grow as a player.

Is the FIBA Asia tag a distraction to Castro?

Yes, if only because it puts unfair pressure on a prized talent such as himself. But no, because it should also serve as motivation and inspiration. If a young basketball player becomes content and happy with where he is, he'll never be able to see just how far his journey could go.

Fortunately, Castro has shown a knack for improving year after year. From speedster to a thinking man's scorer. Now he's added a more consistent three point shot and is able to pull back and slow down in situations he'd normally just go straight to the rim.

If Castro can further improve on his passing game, he'd be completely unstoppable and might (prematurely) force Good Ol' Jimmy to consider part-time assistant coaching.