EJ Castillo returned from the prestigious training camp of Steph Curry last month with more than just new skills.
The Emilio Aguinaldo College rookie guard came back carrying a bigger fire to chase his basketball dreams.
"Unang-una na-feel ko na parang gusto ko rin mag-NBA, na-inspire ako. Grabe," Castillo told GMA News Online last Friday.
"Nando'n din kasi 'yung skills coach niya pati 'yung kapatid niya, si Seth, kaya super nakaka-inspire talaga na parang ang dami ko rin pala pwedeng maabot sa basketball."
Growing up, Castillo shared that he had always idolized Curry, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history with four championships to his name with the Golden State Warriors.
The 19-year-old two-time Mythical Five member in the NCAA juniors tournament laughed as he recalled how he used to defend Curry on social media, insisting he was the better player over LeBron James.
Fast forward to this year, Castillo finally met an NBA player for the first time—and it happened to be Curry himself.
Castillo was one of the two Filipinos invited to the camp alongside University of Santo Tomas' Koji Buenaflor as both rising cagers spent four days learning from the NBA star.
"Sobrang hindi ko in-expect. Gano’n kagaling si God kasi idol ko talaga si Curry lalo nu’ng 2015 era sa Golden State. Sa Facebook dati, pinaglalaban ko pa si Curry na mas magaling siya kay Lebron," Castillo, an incoming rookie for the EAC Generals in NCAA Season 101, added.
"Sobrang solid kasi hindi lang siya kumbaga kilala kong NBA player, idol ko pa siya."
Castillo hopes he can use whatever he learned from Curry in the NCAA and beyond as he hopes to one day make it to the NBA.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
