Letran’s Rey Nambatac (6) dribbles against two San Beda defenders. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Rey Nambatac allayed fears of any serious injuries as he favored his right leg in the second half of Letran’s 89-85 opening day defeat to San Beda.
“Naninigas pa rin eh. Masakit,” he said as he made his way out of the dugout. “Pinipilit ko lang kanina kasi ‘yun ‘yung Arriba spirit talaga.”
(It’s still tight and painful. I just played through it because that’s the Arriba spirit.)
Nambatac suffered from cramps twice in the second half, going down the court and prompting coach Jeff Napa to sub him out of the game. But he waged on and inspired the rest of his team as the Knights refused to sink.
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“Yung PT namin, sinabihan na ako na tama na at wag na pumasok kasi hindi ko na kaya. Pero nu’ng nakita kong humahabol pa kami, kinausap ko na magpapapasok ako ulit. Pero pinigilan na ako kasi marami pa naman games eh,” he said.
(Our PT advised me not to play anymore because I could no longer manage. But when I saw that we were inching closer, I asked to coaches to let me play again. But they did not let me because we still have more games.)
Nambatac’s efforts, though, did not go unnoticed as his stats showed that he truly gave his all for Letran, registering a near triple-double of 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in the losing effort for the Muralla crew.
He shared that it was the first time he had to deal with this injury, saying, “Sa buong paglalaro ko ng basketball, ngayon lang ako nag-cramps ng ganito so di ko rin in-expect na ganun ‘yung mangyayari sa akin kanina.”
(All these years I have been playing basketball, it was my first time to suffer from this kind of cramps. I did not expect it would happen to me.)
But Nambatac acknowledges that those are lessons he has to learn the hard way, and now shifts his focus on the task ahead as the Knights brace for EAC on Tuesday.
“Kung masyado kang eager sa court, napapasama eh. ‘Yun ‘yung nangyari sa akin,” he said. “Actually, pati ‘yung isang leg ko medyo matigas pa rin kaya bukas, magpapa-therapy ako para on Tuesday, 100-percent na.”
(If you are too eager on court, you don’t always get good results. That’s what happened to me. Actually, my other leg is tight too, so tomorrow, I will go through therapy so that I will be on my 100 percent on Tuesday.) IDL