Kib Montalbo received a pleasant reward with his inclusion in TNT’s starting unit in its 2021 PBA Philippine Cup duel with NLEX, Friday.
Head coach Chot Reyes said that the move was their way of recognizing the second-year guard’s fine play last game versus San Miguel. There, he was one of their brighter spots in the defeat as he made 13 points.
“The reason I started Kib was because of his game the last time out. He played an excellent ball game and I felt that he deserved to start,” he said.
The native of Bacolod went on to prove that he deserves to be part of the first five. He had 13 points once again on an efficient 5-of-8 from the floor, on top of three steals and two rebounds in over 23 minutes of action.
And this time around, his efforts did not go into waste as the Tropang Giga collected the rousing 100-85 victory.
But beyond his offensive contribution, the primary reason he came into the opening lineup – together with Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Kelly Williams, and Mikey Williams – was for defensive purposes.
According to Reyes, they put in the two-way specialist from La Salle in an effort to slow down Road Warriors lead guard Kevin Alas.
Photo by PBA Images
“We felt he was a good matchup for Kevin as well. So we knew a big part of the offense of NLEX is Kevin Alas, so we thought Kib had the speed and the defensive prowess to at least give Kevin some problems.
“I know he picked up two quick fouls early, but I thought he played an excellent ball game,” said the five-time Coach of the Year.
That was the same role he took on versus the Beermen last Wednesday, where he guarded star scorer Terrence Romeo.
For Reyes, Montalbo is a significant part of what TNT aims to establish on the defensive end.
“If you’ll notice, with a lot of our pick-ups, we put a premium on defense,” said the straightforward mentor.
“You know, the guys that we picked up like Brian Heruela, Ping Exciminiano, Glenn Khobuntin, they’re really defenders because that’s what we feel that we lack in this team.”
