TNT's Jayson Castro (right) speaks to teammate RR Pogoy.

(PBA Images)

MANILA, Philippines -- He may not be playing for now, but TNT Tropang 5G guard Jayson Castro is still giving invaluable input for the Grand Slam-seeking squad.

Castro, who suffered a knee injury back in March, is helping TNT in another way – through the huddles.

He was in attendance during the Tropang 5G’s 89-88 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots on Wednesday, which set the stage for the sudden-death quarterfinal game on Saturday.

After Wednesday’s win, TNT head coach Chot Reyes said that Castro “really gives a lot of very crucial inputs.”

“[He gives these] during the huddle, during the timeout, the halftime break. Sabi ko nga, 'Jayson, ikaw na nga mag-coach.' Kasi he really sees the game very well,” he told reporters after the win.

“So, I think these guys benefit a lot from the little tips. He doesn't talk in big terms and in abstractions he's very very concrete – ito yung ginagawa nila, ito yung opening. It's very direct,” he added.

Castro is one of the injured players for TNT, which makes their Grand Slam aspirations a little bit harder.

Aside from the 36-year-old guard, the team is also without Rey Nambatac and Jielo Razon due to injuries.

Backup point guard Brian Heruela also exited Wednesday’s game due to an ankle sprain, adding to the team's woes.

“I think for us now the most important thing is our recovery. We have to recover, we have to do a good job resting the bodies,” Reyes said.

“Brian Heruela’s injury is another big blow for us, but we got to get Simon Enciso be a contributor. That's been the story of our team all season long, next man up.”

The quarterfinal clash will tip off 5 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.