AS great as holding a 2-0 lead against tough Barangay Ginebra feels, defending champion TNT is not letting it lull them into complacency.
"Actually, hindi namin iniisip na up kami," Tropang Giga veteran Jayson Castro said heading into Friday's Game 3 of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup finals.
"'Ang thinking namin is one game at a time. 'Yun lang talaga. Every game kung ano 'yung mabibigay namin, ibibigay namin yung best namin. Kung ano man ang magiging resulta, basta binigay namin 'yung best namin, sobrang happy na kami dun," he added.
TNT's best efforts were aptly rewarded in the first two games. And now Castro and Co. are in striking position to make it a commanding 3-0 advantage and move one win away from back-to-back Governors' Cup crown in the All Saints' Day tiff.
After a title-less campaign in Season 48, the Chot Reyes-coached Tropang Giga are all-in for this golden bid.
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"Sobrang masaya ako kasi yung core ng team ngayon maganda, " said Castro, now doing his thing off the bench.
"Nung past year, ang daming injuries and at the same time parang hindi balanced yung team. Ngayon, kahit sinong ipasok, ang mentality namin is to defend. Hindi nga to score, eh; basta dumepensa kami, 'yung score naman darating yan," he added.
The stellar play of pre-season acquisition Rey Nambatac and other backcourt mainstays has enabled Castro to recover from injuries and be at his optimum in the Last Dance.
"The reason Jason can play at this level was because of the great game of his teammates, Rey and the other guards, even Brian Heruela in the elims and even in the playoffs," said Reyes.
"We were able to preserve Jason. If you remember in the semis, we sat him one or two games because we really wanted to save him for the finals. And the reason he's playing at that level now is because he's relatively fresh. We all know what he can bring to the table and he's just showing us his value as our lead guard coming off the bench, leading that second unit. That's very important," he added.(OL)
