TNT Tropang Giga stars Ray Parks Jr. and Jayson Castro are making the most of the off-season to recover from their respective injuries ahead of next PBA wars in April.
The duo was forced out of action as the shorthanded Tropang Giga lost to full-bodied Barangay Ginebra in five games in last month’s Philippine Cup bubble finals in Clark.
Parks, one of the contenders for the Best Player of the Conference honors, aggravated his old left calf strain injury in the finals opener and sat out the rest of the series.
Castro joined him in sickbay in Game 4, sidelined by bone spurs on both knees.
“Ray is just doing strengthening for his calf and progressing well,” TNT physical therapist Dex Aseron said.
Parks’ injury only needed strengthening and time to heal.
However, veteran playmaker Castro would have to undergo an operation to remove the bone spurs. Recovery from the procedure would take about a month.
“Jayson will have his surgery next week,” said Aseron.
The Tropang Giga had big shoes to fill without two of their top players versus the Gin Kings.
Parks gave them 22.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals throughout the All-Filipino and finished No. 1 in the statistical points race with 38.2 SPs. The super sophomore fired 20 markers before fouling out in his only game in the finals.
Castro accounted for norms of 15.2 points, 3.5 boards, 5.1 dimes and 1.5 steals in the historic Clark tourney.