MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas may have to go into its biggest battle without one of its most seasoned mainstays as ace guard Jayson Castro may sit out the FIBA World Cup.
According to Gilas coach Yeng Guiao, Castro, Asia’s top point guard, is contemplating on taking a breather from the action due to “personal priorities.”
“It (Castro’s situation) is one of our concerns. We will have to finalize his status because he has some personal priorities. Within this week, we’ll finalize if he’s going to stay with the team or take a break,” the national mentor said after supervising Gilas’ first practice last Monday.
Castro got married to his long-time girlfriend last Saturday after postponing wedding plans in the past apparently due to his Gilas commitments.
“If it’s family matter, I don’t think anybody can blame him. To me the final say will be on Jayson himself,” said Guiao. “He’s really served the national team. I don’t think we can say anything against him thinking about taking a break.”
If ever, The Blur’s absence will leave a void in the rotation but Guiao is positive someone will step up and fill in his shoes.
“Of course he’ll be a big loss but for me, we have a deep talent pool. And it’s also time for the next generation to get its chance,” said Guiao.
One of those young guns is Guiao’s player at NLEX, Kiefer Ravena, whose suspension from the FIBA should be lifted by the time Gilas competes in the World Cup.
“Next week Kiefer Ravena will already be eligible to practice. He’s one of the guys we’re looking at to take the place of Jayson,” said Guiao.
Gilas has set twice-a-week sessions every Mondays and Thursdays to kick off its World Cup preparations.
Present during the first practice were Marcio Lassiter, Gabe Norwood, June Mar Fajardo, RR Pogoy, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, Marc Barroca, and Raymond Almazan.
“We’ll slowly get into our regular routine,” said Guiao.