After missing the action in their past finals duel with San Miguel Beer, Rey Nambatac promises to go hard to help TNT Tropang Giga secure the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup crown.
During the pre-finals press conference last Monday, Nambatac stressed that he is in great shape, putting him in a perfect position to steer the Tropang 5G to a victory in a conference that the Beermen have been dominating for the past seven editions.
“So far, so good. I’m healthy and excited at the same time,” said the former Letran College standout, who helped the Tropang 5G emerge as No. 3 in the eliminations before beating Magnolia in the quarterfinals and Meralco in the semifinals to book a return flight to the finals.
“I’m glad that after sitting for one conference, I was able to return and help my team get into the finals.”
Nambatac, who has been averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season, was the missing piece that cost TNT a chance to contend for a rare grand slam after suffering a groin injury last season.
Without the prolific two-way guard in the playoffs, the Tropang 5G huffed and puffed, flirting with disaster against Magnolia in the quarterfinals before barely surviving a grueling test against Rain or Shine in the semifinals.
When they got into the best-of-seven finals series against San Miguel, TNT was already gassed out as other key players like Jordan Heading, Poy Erram and RR Pogoy were nursing various injuries together with Nambatac and veteran guard Jayson Castro.
The Beermen went on to win the all-Filipino title in six games to completely deny the Tropang 5G of their grand slam ambition with Nambatac watching helplessly from the bench.
But everything is now a thing of the past. The Tropang 5G are back in the finals and Nambatac is determined to prove that they deserve to win the title.
In fact, in their series-clinching win over Meralco in the semis, it was Nambatac who knocked down a pivotal four-point shot that anchored the Tropang 5G’s come-from-behind 99-96 win in Game 5. All in all, he averaged 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in TNT’s impressive semifinal campaign.
“This is my chance to prove to those who are doubting me that I also deserve to win the title,” Nambatac said, adding that “I have been dreaming of the day that I get into the finals and win a championship for TNT.”
“Our lost last conference is an additional motivation for me to win the title this time.”