Rey Nambatac. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Rey Nambatac did his best to prolong his collegiate career—and Letran’s season—but he needed his young teammate, Jeo Ambohot, to finish the job on Friday night.
Nambatac scattered 25 points, but it was Ambohot who made the biggest shot of the game as the Knights escaped with a 70-68 victory over the Arellano Chiefs to gain a playoff for a Final Four berth in NCAA Season 93 basketball at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The win set the Knights up for another do-or-die clash with the San Sebastian Stags on Tuesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The winner will meet No. 3 Jose Rizal U in the next phase of the stepladder semifinals.
Ambohot’s putback off a Nambatac miss with 3.3 seconds remaining gave the Knights a 69-68 lead. Levi Dela Cruz turned the ball over on the next play and the Chiefs were forced to foul JP Calvo, who split his free throws for the final count.
Sidelined for two months due to a wrist injury, the 6-foot-6 Ambohot’s return couldn’t have come at a better time for the Knights.
“I still want to play [in the NCAA],” said Nambatac. “I have unfinished business at Letran.”