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PRIZED amateur cager Jason Castro has just earned the
distinct honor of the first Filipino to play in the National
Basketball League of Australia.
The spitfirish point guard of
four-time PBL champion Harbour Centre on Friday signed a one season
contract with the Singapore Slingers as one of the team’s three
imports that will beef up the line up for the coming NBL season, in
the process putting on hold his dream of turning pro and join next
year’s PBA drafting season.
Castro, who led Philippine
Christian University to the NCAA crown in 2004, will be receiving no
less than 60,000 Australian dollar (roughly P1.9 million) plus
additional perks for a seven-month stint in Australia’s premier
basketball league. The NBL runs from September to February.
Danny Espiritu, Castro’s
agent, announced in Saturday’s press conference that his ward has
informed the PBA of his decision to forego his application to turn
pro. The salary cap for a rookie in the PBA is only P150,000 a
month.
“It’s an honor having
been invited to play in foreign land. Napapasalamat ako sa lahat, sa
Singapore Slingers sa Harbour sa pagbibigay nila sa akin ng
pagkakataon na makalaro. Umasa sila na kung ano ang nakita nila para
ako magustuhan ay ganun din ang makikita nila sa laro ko sa kanila,”
Castro said.
Also present during the
media conference were Singapore Lingers’ managing director Bob
Turner, basketball operations manager Michael Johnson, Harbour team
manager Eric Arejola and Paul Manosca, representative of Batang Pier
owner Mikee Romero and the man responsible for brokering Castro’s
joining the team.
Turner and Johnsobn said
they took notice of Castro’s talent during the RP team’s
training in Singapore last year.
“Actually, acquiring
Jason would be mutually beneficial for both us and Jason. Playing
for a team whose height averaged 6-foot-8 and against equally tall
and hefty teams, I’m sure that Jason’s game will, likewise,
improve a lot,” Turner said. “Jason’s brand of play, which
fast and exciting, on the other hand, is what we need in our desire
to figure out in the title play this coming season.”
--Eddie G. Alinea
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