Rey Nambatac (with ball) drives past Anton Asistio. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
What Rey Nambatac had imagined for years finally became a reality on Friday night when he reached the championship round in the PBA. But he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.
The TNT guard let out a heartfelt “Finally, yes, yes, yes!” in a chat with reporters, but not without reaching for a pensive musing on opposing Rain or Shine, the team that brought him to the pro ranks seven years ago.
“I’m happy [but] with a bit of sadness because there was a time—when I was still on the other team—that we hoped for this,” he said of making the Finals.
“Kind of sad. But at the end of the day, it’s just basketball and it’s just business. Whether you like it or not, this is all part of being a professional,” he went on.
TNT punched a return ticket to the title series after beating a promising Rain or Shine squad in five games in the final four. Nambatac was an integral part of that run, which is a feat on its own, considering he only joined the Tropang Giga in the offseason.
“It feels like only yesterday,” the former Letran ace said. “But you know, I’m thankful to the coaches, especially coach Chot [Reyes], the bosses, the utility staff and, most especially, the players, since they were the biggest factors why I got adjusted quickly.”
Nambatac felt right at home with TNT in this Governors’ Cup, helping the club to an 8-2 win-loss mark to top Group A. The crafty guard went on to sustain that fine play in the playoffs, averaging 15 points on a squad littered with scoring talents like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Calvin Oftana and Roger Pogoy.
Spelling Jayson
More than his knack for scoring, Nambatac’s playmaking afforded the Tropang Giga to rest its most potent closer, Jayson Castro, for the series that matters most.
“I just embraced everything and let my game justify my place here,” said Nambatac when asked about his thriving situation at TNT. “I think the biggest [thing] here is I was able to fit into my role.”
Coach Yeng Guiao, the coach who selected Nambatac seventh overall in the 2017 Rookie Draft, said he is proud of his former ward.
“We’re happy that he found a really nice situation for himself to get to the Finals,” Guiao said. “And I’m sure that he’s also happy for us that we got to reach the semis.”
Nambatac made sure that the feeling was truly mutual, shaking and even hugging his former coach and teammates after the match while heaping praises on his old team later.
“And I think we all saw that last conference and even early this season. I wasn’t really that much of a loss,” he said, humbly. “Give those guys two to three years, I bet they’re going to be steady contenders. I know they learned a lot from this series against us.” INQ