Castro sees big chance for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines -  Jayson Castro, a Gilas Pilipinas mainstay from 2013, sees a great potential in the latest Gilas group tapped to embark on a quest to make the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Now the Gilas skipper at 30, Castro said he’s leading a young, versatile team loaded with offensive weapons from their backcourt lineup to their frontcourt crew led by naturalized player Andray Blatche and reigning three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo.

He said the weakness of the team lies in its lack of a lockdown defensive player like Gabe Norwood who can match up with anybody in almost all positions except at center spot.

“We have more scorers now. We even have players that you can go to for isolation plays like Terrence (Romeo) unlike before when our focus was on defense and our offense ran strictly within a system,” said Castro.

“If ever, our problem is defense. Before we had Gabe who could really neutralize the best weapons of our opponents,” Castro added. “That’s why I’m talking to my teammates telling them we need to focus on defense since it’s defense that wins games in the international meets. It’s defense coupled by a good outside shooting.”

Offensively, Castro believes coach Chot Reyes has a system that will open up their shooters.

“You didn’t see it in the first half (of our game against the PBA Visayas selection in Cebu) because it was our first game after the announcement of the Final 12. Everybody was so eager to play, everybody wanted to make a show. And it backfired,” Castro pointed out.

“Maybe it’s because we have a lot of new guys. But when we settled down, the points started to come,” said Castro on their come-from-behind 125-112 win at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.

 The reigning back-to-back FIBA Asia best point guard agrees with the common observation that Gilas has a lot more solid frontcourt lineup now.

“June Mar, Japeth (Aguilar), Troy (Rosario) are mature and experienced players. They’ve experienced playing in the big stage of FIBA tourneys,” Castro said.

Throw in Blatche, and they’re likely to throw their weight around in the SEABA Championship slated May 12-18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Perhaps, this Gilas frontcourt can well hold its own even against the best of them in Asia including China and Iran.

Castro said they’re likely to draw much firepower from Blatche.

“Blatche wants to score. He draws energy from there. He gets pumped up when he scores,” said Castro in comparing Blatche with Marcus Douthit.

“Douthit is unselfish in terms of scoring. He focused on defense that’s why all of us then had our opportunities to shine,” Castro added.

Castro’s wish is they become a team in the truest sense of the word just like the 2013 Gilas team that succeeded in its goal to reach the World Championship.