Castro’s clutch 4th quarter propels TNT to first PBA PH Cup win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Veteran point guard Jayson Castro turned back the hands of time and led the TNT Tropang Giga to a valiant comeback win against the Magnolia Chicken Timplados, 78-72, in the opening day of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup.

Trailing 59-53 with 10 minutes left in the final canto, the former Gilas Pilipinas superstar poured in 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Chicken Timplados.

Head coach Chot Reyes and the rest of the Tropang Giga were already facing a major setback as PBA Rookie of the Year Mikey Williams has yet to show up with the team.

Reyes already said that the Tropang Giga management and Williams’ camp are yet to reach an agreement regarding his playing contract which is still uncertain up to this point.

Despite Williams’ absence, the Tropang Giga was still able to execute their offensive sets against a patient Magnolia team led by Paul Lee and Mark Barroca.

Magnolia was off to an excellent start as Barroca was quick to launch a barrage of mid-range perimeter jump shots and tallied 10 quick points in just the first quarter.

Troy Rosario kept the Tropang Giga afloat as he answered every Magnolia basket and was the main reason why they avoided the 10-point hole despite the Hotshots’ waxing hot offense.

Newly-acquired hybrid guard Matt Ganuelas-Rosser immediately let his presence felt soon as coach Reyes summoned his number and became an effective two-way player during their second-half run.

Alongside Castro, Ganuelas-Rosser was also a valuable piece during their fourth-quarter run and buried the clutch layup in the paint to give them the lead with two minutes left in the game.

Magnolia had the chance to regain the lead but a missed shot resulted in a Tropang Giga stop that was quickly converted into a basket courtesy of Castro’s slashing prowess.

Ganuelas-Rosser then iced the game with a fast-break slam dunk assisted by no other than Castro with 18 seconds left in the ball game.