Alapag’s heir apparent

Talk ‘N’ Text point guard Jimmy Alapag is far from anywhere close to retiring and continues to play at a high level but this early, it’s clear that when he finally hangs up his sneakers, teammate Jayson Castro will take over the Tropa’s mantle of leadership.

In the recent PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Texters coach Norman Black often used Alapag and Castro as his closing backcourt combination. When they’re on the court together, there’s an extra crackle to the Texters’ pop. They’re the firestarters, the purveyors of Talk ‘N’ Text’s dribble-drive offense. 

Alapag, 35, and Castro, 26, are almost two of a kind. They’re both quick, smart and tough on both ends, Black’s Little Big Men. They’re deadly from the outside and unstoppable on the inside as dishers or scorers. Their teammates look to them for direction on the floor. So far, Alapag has played on six championship teams in 11 Finals and Castro, on five in seven title series. 

Alapag was Talk ‘N’ Text’s first round pick and 10th overall in the 2003 PBA draft. Mike Cortez, Romel Adducul, Eddie Laure, Harvey Carey, Brandon Cablay, Billy Mamaril, Enrico Villanueva, Marlon Legaspi and Reynel Hugnatan were chosen ahead of the 5-9 spitfire from Cal State at San Bernardino. Alapag was the PBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2003 and MVP in 2010-11.

Castro was the Texters’ first round pick and third overall in 2008 after Gabe Norwood and Jared Dillinger. While Alapag has been selected to play in every All-Star Game since his PBA arrival, Castro has never been named, probably because he’s played in the Mighty Mouse’s shadow for years. He was the Most Improved Player in 2010-11 but shared Finals MVP honors with Alapag in the Philippine and Commissioner’s Cup that season.

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But this past conference, Castro finally gained single recognition as the Best Player. Ironically, he never won Best Player of the Game honors during the Texters’ 4-0 sweep of Rain Or Shine. That award went to four different Texters – Jared Dillinger in Game 1, Ranidel de Ocampo in Game 2, Alapag in Game 3 and Ali Peek in Game 4. Still, that didn’t diminish the glow of Castro’s ascendancy. Before the Finals, Castro led the Texters in scoring (15.6). He averaged 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 28.4 minutes while hitting .438 from the field, .338 from three-point distance and .724 from the line. 

In Game 1 of the Finals, Castro compiled 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. In Game 2, he collected 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. In Game 3, Castro had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists. And in the clincher, he contributed six points, five rebounds and five assists. In the four-game series, Castro hit 6-of-17 from three-point range.

In the conference, Castro scored at least 20 in five games, went under double figure points in only four and registered a double-double once. He led the Texters in scoring in nine outings during the Tropa’s 21-4 campaign.

So when the final tally for Best Player of the Conference vote was announced, there was no question as to who deserved it. Castro was the runaway choice with 1,146 total points. The other contenders were De Ocampo with 730, Calvin Abueva 612, Arwind Santos 520 and Sol Mercado 437. The breakdown of the vote was 40 percent from statistics, 30 percent from media, 25 percent from players (51 voted but nine were invalidated) and five percent from the PBA Commissioner’s Office.

Castro wasn’t No. 1 in the statistics category. Santos topped this department with Abueva second, Mercado third and Castro fourth. That’s not unusual because in Black’s deep rotation, players are given equal opportunity to deliver. In the media poll, Castro was No. 1 with 482 votes, taking 32 of 35 first-place ballots. Among the players, Castro grabbed 16 of 42 valid first-place votes. Abueva came in second with 11 first-place ballots, De Ocampo third with six, Mercado fourth with five and Santos fifth with four. In the PBA Commissioner’s Office vote, Castro got 150 points, De Ocampo 75 and Abueva 25.

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What’s remarkable in Castro’s rise to prominence is his championship tradition. In 2004, he led Philippine Christian University to the NCAA senior men’s title under coach Ato Tolentino. And in the PBL, he played on two Harbour Centre championship squads under Junel Baculi and Jorge Gallent. Castro was also on the Philippine teams that won the Southeast Asian Games gold medal in Bangkok in 2007 and the SEABA crown in Jakarta in 2008. 

Curiously, Castro’s surname isn’t Castro. It’s William. His father Ronald William was a former US Navyman once assigned in Olongapo. His mother is Rosario Castro. His parents are now divorced and live separately in the US. Castro has a sister Nikki with his parents and a half-brother and half-sister with his mother and step-father. Castro learned the game on sandlots in Guagua, Pampanga, and was discovered by Manila scouts playing for his high school in Bacolor. He was brought to Manila by former national cager Richie Melencio’s uncle and recruited by Bong Sales to play for PCU as a rookie under coach Jimmy Mariano. Today, Castro still considers Guagua his home, staying close with his grandmother Rosalinda and aunt Lolita who raised him as a boy with his parents gone to the US.

Castro is known by his moniker The Blur but some of his diehard fans like to call him Castro the Maestro because it has a nice ring to the rhyme. Eventually, Castro will become the Texters’ chief Maestro but for the moment, there’s no more formidable backcourt tandem in the league than the Blur and the Mighty Mouse.