Rey Nambatac continues to feel Jayson Castro’s presence even though their main man hasn’t been around TNT since suffering a season-ending knee injury.
And that’s precisely why he was able to submit his best performance in a Tropang Giga uniform, ultimately enabling the traditional contenders to regain control of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
“Siguro nararamdaman ko ‘yung presence ni Kuya Jayson ngayon, even though wala siya sa venue,” he said shortly after their 87-85 Game 3 victory at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Wednesday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
Nambatac had earlier admitted that the pressure of filling in the void left by Castro’s absence almost got the best of him had it not been for the reminders by his teammates and, more importantly, head coach Chot Reyes.
All that they told him was to become ‘Sting Rey’ and not play like anybody else — and that, for sure, boded well for the lefty floor general.
From helping lead the Tropa past Rain or Shine in the semis, he upped the ante come the Finals and has now become one of their more consistent cogs.
But Game 3 was easily his best showing of the title series thus far, finishing with 24 points to register also his new playoff career-high. It is also his highest output with the franchise, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
“Instead na parang akuin ko ‘yung responsibility na ‘yun, which is hindi naman talaga kaya, tinake ko siya as motivation kaya ‘yun ‘yung naging outcome, gumanda and naging loose ako every game.”
He’s become so loose that the Nambatac of old came and delivered the goods — especially in the endgame, when he nailed a big corner triple with 30.1 seconds left to break the 82-all tie and put them ahead for good.
The former Letran Knights star isn’t asked to become Castro or fulfill the role he’s left, yes, but he’s fully embraced the responsibility of making the best possible decisions for his team when needed — which he did.
“Importante ‘yung decision-making sa loob lalo na wala si Kuya Jayson. So I need to make good decisions especially sa mga ganung moment,” he said.
“At least nag-pay off naman, especially ‘yung mga extra shots na ginagawa ko sa practice. Just go with the flow lang, sinusunod ko lang yung sistema ni Coach Chot,” added Nambatac, who also had five rebounds and seven assists.
“And isa sa malaking factor din is ‘yung may tiwala talaga ‘yung mga teammates ko sa akin,” he continued.
#WATCH: Even without Justin Brownlee, Chot Reyes and Rey Nambatac believe Ginebra remains strong after their close win in Game 3 of the #PBA2025 Commissioner’s Cup Finals 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/iwGwCtvZHO
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 19, 2025
