Castro: Now we know we can beat them

CHANGSHA – With a second straight runner-up finish, Gilas Pilipinas top gun Jayson Castro can only wish Philippine basketball to put up a real united front to hopefully help propel Team Phl all the way to the top in the next Asian wars.

Castro believes the Philippines is right there behind China and just needs that little more push to gain basketball supremacy in the continent.

“We know that we can beat them and I’m sure they feel that we can beat them,” said Castro.

“For a two-month training and the absence of some of our guys that we needed here, we’re proud of what we have achieved. Maybe, let’s just make sure the next time that we really unite,” Castro added.

The other Gilas players hope Castro’s call wouldn’t fall on deaf ears.

They want a concrete plan backed by all Philippine basketball stakeholders.

In the just-concluded FIBA Asia finals. Castro admitted they failed to play the game needed to beat China in the gold-medal game.

“We came up short. We didn’t hit the outside shots they’re giving to us. In the third quarter, for some reason, our energy went down. Our defensive game plan broke down maybe because we’re already tired,” said Castro.

“But we have to admit they’re tall and they’re good. They challenged and made it tough for us to take the shots we’re comfortable taking,” he added.

He consoled himself with the fact that they trained for less than two months, compared to the Chinese who toured the world in training for seven months.

Even then, he insisted they could’ve beaten the Chinese had their shots fallen.

“I really feel we have what it takes to beat. Next time, we have to make our shots,” he said.

“We fell short, pero okay na yan,” he added.