Take the lead

Jayson Castro the Leader
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The knock on Talk'n'Text Tropang Texters star combo guard Jayson Castro has always been "he can't do it without Kuya Jimmy (Alapag)." Even when he was hailed as FIBA Asia 2012's "Best Point Guard in ALL of Asia," a lot of people (us included) chose to remain quiet, if only to not draw the ire of the patriotic, instead of celebrating his rare feat.

Because that whole tournament, it was Jimmy Alapag and L.A. Tenorio running the offense. Because Castro was used more like a 6th man, off-the-bench scorer. Because he was the featured piece on offense instead of the guy who makes everything work.

Quite simply, because Jayson Castro, in the FIBA Asia tournament, and the whole TNT run of titles, was the star player yes, but not the "lead" player.

Prior to the PBA Commissioner's Cup, there were exploratory talks about Castro being dealt to either Kia Carnival or Blackwater Elite for a possible 2015 PBA Draft top pick. Though this basically means that Castro is a big enough star to warrant a future star, it's also quite insulting in the same right.

You're going to trade FIBA Asia's reigning Best Point Guard for some kid with 50-50 chances of hitting superstardom locally, let alone internationally?

So far, Castro has done enough to silence his critics (and those who were ready to bid him adieu and roll out the red carpet for either a Ray Ray Parks, Jr. or Moala Tautuaa) with the Texters enjoying a 5 wins - 1 loss slate. During this run, Kuya Jimmy has happily retired into a Front Office role while Castro is tearing it up with averages of 19.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 32.4 minutes played per game.

All of that, while having the solid Ryan Reyes, returning Willie Miller and rising star Kevin Alas all gunning for his newfound top dog spot.

Head coach Jong Uichico deserves a lot of credit for Castro's continued evolution into a lead point guard. Last conference, there were a lot of end game situations (that didn't require the prerequisite Castro game winner, but rather just a set offense to be run) wherein Uichico left Castro on the floor to figure things out. It was brutal to watch, but Castro was able to learn from it all. He started to realize that though it's easier for himself to just score the damn ball with his God-given gifts, it's a hell of a lot easier to make plays for others (while being more fun of course).

This conference, despite the presence of mammoth-sized imports, is starting to play out like one for the future flag bearers of the PBA: Castro, Paul Lee and Terrence Romeo. Romeo's going to have his turn as the Caguioa heir apparent, but right now, it's a toss up between Castro and Lee. And from the looks of things, Castro seems to be bent on keeping his title as not only the PBA's, but FIBA Asia's Best until further notice.

Now about those team-leading 2.5 turnovers per game...