PBA: Rey Nambatac hopes to finally play in title series

If TNT succeeds in its first chance at finishing off Rain or Shine and advance to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Rey Nambatac will finally get to check one item off his bucket list.

And even if it that comes at the expense of his former team, which he still holds in high regard.

“If not for Rain or Shine, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” Nambatac said in Filipino during the earlier part of the semifinal series, which now has the Tropang Giga ahead 3-1 and within a win of closing out the ElastoPainters.

The two teams clash anew in Game 5 at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

A win will allow TNT to get an earlier breather while waiting for the conclusion of the other semifinal duel between sister teams San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra.

And it will be a career-defining moment for Nambatac.

“What’s funny about my PBA journey is that I’ve never experienced playing in the Finals. But this is my best opportunity and my best shot at making that a reality,” he said.

Playing in the PBA’s biggest stage has eluded the former Letran star since being drafted by Rain or Shine in 2017. The southpaw guard lost all of his three semifinal appearances in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, the 2019 Philippine Cup and the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup.

The closest Nambatac got to reaching the finals was in that 2019 Philippine Cup, where the Painters lost in Game 7 to Magnolia.

He is even closer now.

“I was so happy when we beat NLEX [in the quarterfinals]. It felt like a championship for me,” Nambatac said after making the Final Four in his first conference with TNT.

Offseason trade

The Tropang Giga acquired Nambatac in an offseason trade with the Blackwater Bossing.

His determined effort to get to the Finals seemed evident with his current play in the semifinals, averaging 15.8 points on 47-percent shooting on top of 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Game 4 saw Nambatac drain a three-point shot with 1:15 left that put TNT ahead, 79-76. But Rain or Shine countered with a Santi Santillan three-point play that squared the count before Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored on a dunk that sealed an 81-79 victory and allowed Nambatac to move one step closer from his first-ever Finals appearance.

On his path, though, lies his former coach Yeng Guiao, who refuses to throw the virtual white flag despite the precarious situation the Painters are in following the Game 4 defeat.

“Our only hope is to keep the series going,” said Guiao.

In the other game on Friday, the Beermen and the Gin Kings will break their 2-2 deadlock starting at 5 p.m.

The Beermen knotted the series after a 131-121 victory on Wednesday’s Game 4 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.