Kwentong Gilas featuring Jayson Castro

Jayson Castro is one of the go to guy of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters. He played a big role during the Fiba Asia Championship held in MOA Arena last year. He can score inside and out. He can rebound and make beautiful passes. His speed makes it hard for his opponent to keep up with him. At such a young age, he already achieved a lot - best point guard in Asia, two best player of the conference awards, finals MVP and numerous championships under his belt, there's no doubt that Jayson Castro is a successful young fella.

Everyone knows that Jayson Castro likes to keep it down low, you can barely see him to TV except if his team has a game of course. He has no social media account and he has not been on any news. His personal life is a mystery to many fans but that will soon change as he's featured on Kwentong Gilas - a video documentary featuring the life of all Gilas members.

Kwentong Gilas is shown every Thursday on TV5!

Video Credit: Kwentong Gilas

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Modest Start

Even with the return of Larry Fonacier, Jayson Castro, and Ranidel De Ocampo from their well deserved rest, still the team absorbed its second lost to the hands of their sister team Meralco Bolts. Prior to that, they took a beat down from the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

But Talk N Text Tropang Texters is just too good of a team to allow their losing skid to continue. Last Sunday, the team took care of business beating the Global Port Batang Pier. Larry Fonacier was all fired up scoring 19 points and contributed in the rebound and assist departments as well. Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo are slowly getting into the groove scoring 12 and 11 points respectively. Tony Mitchell was in his usual high scoring game with 35 points and had a couple of highlight plays.

With the win, the team improve to 2-2 win loss record. They are still in a strong position to secure a spot in the top four at the end of the elimination round. If the team will continue to improve and everyone will contribute, there's still a big possibility that they will be on top of the standings.

Team Captain Jimmy Alapag is expected to suit up for the team, this should give the them an added push knowing how Jimmy inspires his team mates to play good basketball. Now that the team is complete, hopefully they will be able to score another win and closes in to their immediate goal - to be in the top four.

Talk N Text Tropang Texters will be up against Alaska Aces this Friday. This is going to be another tough game for them since Alaska Aces lost its last assignment. The team will definitely try to bounce back to avoid a second straight defeat. Game is 7:30PM at the Mall of Asia Arena.

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Hard Earned First Win

If there's one team that is depleted in terms of line up, that would be the Talk N Text Tropang Texters. The team entered the Governor's Cup without six key players into their line up. Larry Fonacier, Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, and Ranidel De Ocampo are having their well deserved rest after making the country proud with their second place finish in the recently concluded Fiba Asia Championship. Harvey Carey is currently in the United States to marry his long time girlfriend while Kelly Williams is still on leave of absence to recuperate from his recurring illness. On the other hand, the team acquired two players to fill in a huge hole, Sean Anthony and Jai Reyes are now a "katropa" but we lost our beloved lefty Jared Dillinger to Meralco Bolts.

Against the Barako Bull, the team had to rely on the scoring prowess of their explosive import Tony Mitchell. Tony is no stranger to the team as he was able to play three games for the team last Commissioner's Cup. On his first game as the returning import he scored 48 points along with 11 rebounds. He got a huge support from Ryan Reyes, Jai Reyes, and Sean Anthony. 

The first win did not come in handy, they had to go to overtime period for the game to be decided. It was a high scoring ball game as both teams reached atleast a hundred points. The guys were trailing most of the way until their 21-0 run in the third period turned things around. Sean Anthony made quite an impression as he showed the fans and the management that he's a good choice as Jared's replacement, he ended up the best player of the game with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals.

The team's next assignment is the San Mig Coffee Mixers, it is going to be another tough game for them as they will again miss the services of the Gilas Pilipinas members. San Mig Coffee is on a two game skip, it is expected that they will do everything they can to get their first win in the tourney. We will be needing again the scoring power of Tony Mitchell and the support from the local players.

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Road to the Finals!

When I started this blog, I made a commitment that I will write a post after every TNT game but that commitment was not put to reality due to my other priorities. The last post I wrote was when the Talk N Text Tropang Texters suffered their first loss in the elimination round against the Alaska Aces! The team eventually finished the elimination round on top of the standings with a 12-2 win-loss record.

The road to the finals was not an easy one for the team, they went through the quarter finals round with a twice to beat advantage against the Air21 Express. Their game against the Express was nerve wracking, I thought for a second that they will have to go through the do or die game.

Then here comes the young and talented Alaska Aces team for the semifinals round. Alaska Aces is a totally different with the entry of their super rookie Calvin Abueva, they gave the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters a very good fight. A lot of people would say that the series will be over in four games but that wasn’t the case as the Aces proved to be a tough team to beat. It was definitely a beautiful series to watch with a handful of technical fouls, ejection, and sanctioned meted. At the end, it was the experience and composure of the team that won the series.

On the next - the finals, they will be up against another young and talented team – the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Having won their first ever championship trophy in the Governor’s Cup, the E-Painters are highly motivated to add another championship trophy to their collection. They are also wanted to prove to everybody that they can go all the way to the finals without an import.

These two teams will definitely try to do everything to get to be called the “champions” once again. For the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, they are aiming for 3-peat that will enable them to take home prestigious Jun Bernardino trophy while the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters want to show that they are for real and not just a fluke.

As for the coaches, Norman Black is looking for his 11th PBA championships while Yeng Giuao wants to complete his collection with an All Fipino trophy.

Game one of the best of seven series will kick off on January 8, 2012 at the Smart Araneta Colisuem.

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That First Loss!

I call it breaks of the game! Every team went through that same kind of experience. The goal tending call turned things around but I am not bitter about it. The important thing was that we played good and honest basketball. That game was never meant to be ours! We will be better next time around. 

Coach Norman drew a perfect plan and the players executed it very well, it’s just unfortunate that the ball went in and out of the rim allowing the Alaska Aces to escape with a two-point victory and blemished the perfect record of Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters. I have to give credits to the Aces for giving the fans a good game, this team is going to be a tough team to beat especially now that their super rookie is playing consistently. 

Jimmy Alapag led the team with his 17 points and played a crucial role during their third quarter rally allowing them to take the lead going into the final canto. They had the lead for the most part of the fourth quarter only to bow down in the last two minutes of the game. That final shot of JVee Casio against the extended arms of Kelly Williams ended the winning streak of the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters. 

On a positive note, five other players from the team scored in twin digits. It means that there’s no particular player who will carry the load in their every game. Anybody can explode at any given time and they are showing that they play as a team. 

Their next game will be this coming November 07 at 7:30PM against Petron Blaze Boosters in Smart Araneta Coliseum. It’s going to be another exciting game as both teams coming from a tough loss. Petron would want to bounce back after an embarrassing loss against Air21 Express.

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On A Hot Winning Streak

Everybody knows that Jayson Castro is now the face of the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters. He brings excitement and quickness to the team whenever he is on the court. He is just so quick that it is hard for his opponents to keep him in check. He’s instrumental in all of their 5 wins, however, he injured his hand during their last game against the Barako Bull Energy Cola as a result he did not suit up during their game against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in Negros Occidental. 

A lot of people said that Talk ‘N Text’s offense is so different without Jayson Castro and I do have to agree. There’s no quickness in their offense, it’s as if their dribble-drive game is just not there. True that Jayson is an important piece of the team but basketball is not just a one man show, it’s a team sport and even without their reliable scorer, the team was able to notch their 6th win in as many games. 

The team didn’t really have a perfect offensive night as they struggled to make some baskets. Their free throws weren’t there either. Larry Fonacier, a known steady free throw shooter missed a lot of free throws including the last two that left a small hope for the Rain or Shine to tie the game. Good thing they were able to make a good defensive stop on JR Quiñahan in the next possession. 

Both teams struggled all night, I am not sure if it’s the defense or just the fact that they were playing in a different venue. Jeff Chan, the league leading scorer only scored 4 points in his 28 minutes of play. Jervy Cruz made up for the lack luster performance of their top scorer by scoring 14 points along with 12 boards. Jimmy Alapag led all scorers with his 15 points and 7 assists. 

Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters next opponent is the Alaska Aces this coming November 02, 2012 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game time is 7:30PM. The Aces are also on a hot winning streak thanks to their super rookie Calvin Abueva.

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Five and Counting!

To an avid fan, it is such a joy to see your favorite team leading in the standings in the early stages of the Philippine Cup. Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, the defending champions is looking for a 3 peat for them to keep the Jun Bernadino trophy for good. Looking at their win-loss record right now, the goal is just within reach. It looks like the guys are very comfortable with the new system of their new head coach because they haven’t lost a single game since the opening of the conference. 

They just notched their fifth straight win last night at the expense of the Barako Bull Energy Cola. It was a low scoring ball game with both teams trying to limit their opponent’s offensive weapons with their suffocating defense. Norman Black known as a defense oriented mentor wanted his troop to be known not just as a good offensive but a good defensive team as well and they just showed it last night. 

The game was tied at 77 when Jayson Castro hit a crucial three point shot off the pass of Jimmy Alapag, the shot was the final basket. The texters then applied a good and honest defense throughout the remainder of the game. Even though he injured his left hand early in the first period, Jay Castro led the scoring load of the team with 15 points. Larry Fonacier and Ali Peek were also in double digit scoring 13 and 10 points apiece. 

Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters next assignment is the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who’s also on winning streak after a come from behind win against the San Mig Coffee Mixers. The game will be played at Victorias City, Negros Occidental this coming October 27, 2012. Game time is 6:30 in the evening. 

TNT nation let’s keep the faith and hopefully we can make it to six in a row!

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First Game: No Problem

Even if I wanted to watch the first game of Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters on TV, my work doesn’t allow me to do so. Game starts at 5:15PM but my off from work is not until 6PM, on top of that I need to travel approximately 30 minutes before reaching home. So I just watch the first half of the game through online streaming. What I don’t like about online streaming is that it keeps on buffering every now and then. Well anyways, here’s what I have observed from my beloved team in the PBA…

Right off the bat, the team did not have a problem getting the ball to the rim. The offense was there right from the first possession. All starting five players were able to contribute, enabling the team to put an early double digit lead. Their defense was also good as they were able to hold down the offense of the Meralco Bolts. That’s one of the best things about having the same line-up from the previous season because there’s no adjustments needed and players know each other very well.

Going into the second quarter, the team is still leading but Meralco Bolts is slowly picking up their offense. They were able to cut the lead down to 10 points at one point. That’s probably the last sequence I’ve seen from the game since I was already heading out of work. Good thing when I got home, I heard a good news from Mico Halili and Kenneth Duremdes (AKTV Center’s hosts) that Talk ‘N Text won via overtime.

Well it was quite a surprised that the game went to overtime considering that they were leading by as much as 16 points in the second quarter. Well, a win is still a win! So I’ll take that one. As what I have learned from the hosts, the Tropang Texters squandered a 24-point lead in the third quarter allowing the Meralco Bolts to send the game into overtime. Good thing though, Talk ‘N Text showed their championship poise during the extension period beating the retooled Meralco Bolts by only two points.

Jared Dillinger had an impressive night chipping in 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was not alone though as six other players from the team scored in double digits. Harvey Carey also became the 38th member of the 2000 defensive rebounds club. Jayson Castro handled the back court task since Jimmy Alapag was not able to play due to a calf injury. Interestingly, all players that Coach Nash fielded in were able to score. A total team effort, I must say!

Kudos to Coach Nash for the great game and first getting the first win as a PBA coach!

Let’s keep the faith!

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