Veteran guard Jayson Castro made sure to lead by example as, after getting an earful from TNT head coach Chot Reyes for a lackluster performance the last time out, responded with a crucial showing in their quarterfinals game against Eastern.

Castro kept TNT afloat against Eastern, dropping 13 of his 16 points in the third frame before the rest of the Tropa picked up the slack and created the separation.

Seeing the team needing some sort of direction when Eastern took a 57-51 lead, Castro opted to take matters in his own hands.

“Sobrang ganda ng defensive rules nila, nag-stay home sila kay Rondae at the same time so sa mga shooters namin. Na-feel ko as one of the veterans sa team na ito, na (need) mag take over or mag contribute aside from facilitating the offense,” said Castro

At 38 years old, such performances continue to prove that the battle-scarred playmaker still has plenty of gas left in the tank even though he has also been slowed down by injuries.

“Siguro yung eagerness ko lang to win talaga at the same time mag contribute sa team yun lang ‘yung nagbibigay sa akin ng motivation and as one of the veterans sa team kailangan mo maging good example so siguro yun lang yung motivation lagi,” he added.

Becoming a role model to his younger teammates is certainly something Castro is serious about and head coach Chot Reyes attested to that.

“Pinagalitan ko talaga siya last game because of his bad game against Rain or Shine in front of the team,” recalled Reyes.

‘Yun ang maganda  sa team namin and Jayson is the perfect example of the ability and the willingness to accept negative feedback and use it kasi sa amin ganoon lang naman eh we’re very direct but everything is for the good of the team so good bounce back from Jayson,” added the veteran coach.

Asked how he took it, Castro said it’s something that isn’t new to him, especially that he has been playing under Reyes for most of his career.

“As a veteran kailangan mo i-(ready) yung sarili mo sa mga ganung situation kasi tinitingnan ako ng mga ibang teammates ko kung paano mag bounce back, at the same time, makabawi sa game,” said Castro.

“Sobrang normal na sa amin iyon. Thank you kay coach Chot kasi pinapagalitan niya pa ako ibig sabihin may value pa ako sa team,” he added.