Kib Montalbo played subpar in TNT’s first game in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup. Winding up with three points in 1-of-9 shooting, he himself was the first to admit that was far, far from a good game. In fact, right before the interview proper, he had to let out a couple of not-so-nice words that begin with “sh” and end with “t.”
“Ako, gutom na gutom talaga ako. I’m a winner, man,” he expressed.
“I hate losing. Kahit sa scrimmage, naba-bad trip akong matalo.”
While the Tropang Giga won the first game in their title defense, it was just two weeks ago that Montalbo, Troy Rosario, Roger Pogoy, and head coach Chot Reyes were all part of a loss – a historic loss, to be more pointed. They, alongside the rest of Gilas Pilipinas, fell to Indonesia in the gold medal match in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games. In turn, the gold was NOT going home to the Philippines for the first time since 1989.
Of course, there was an uproar back home over the result. The Filipinos have the best basketball players in the region; and quite a few of the best in all of Asia. And yet, Gilas, for all its height and might (compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, at least), couldn’t win the one tournament that was a sure win?
Fingers were pointed at many, many things. Terrible shooting, as they went 3-of-16 from long-range and 24-of-32 from the line. Questionable rotations, with four players on the floor for 31 minutes and more. Montalbo, for his part, had his fair share of hate coming his way.
(C) Paul Ryan Tan/FIBA Asia
“Oh yeah, man! I’m one of the most hated guards now.
“The standard of a great guard here (both in Gilas and TNT) is Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag, guards who can really score. What I give to the team is not scoring. It’s my defensive intensity, my intangibles,” he answered when asked if he felt the ire and fire of his basketball-crazed kababayans.
Indeed, it was an unenviable job to stand alongside the likes of Castro, Alapag, and even current TNT lead guard Mikey Williams, but through the 2021-22 PBA season, the Bacolod native very much looked like he was on the way up. Posting per game counts of 6.7 points, 2.2 assists, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.7 triples, along with his typical defensive effort and energy, he was one of the top contenders for Most Improved Player.
Still, it’d be an extreme expectation to have Montalbo do the heavy lifting at the offensive end, whether that be for the Tropang Giga or the national team. Starting from his time in La Salle, he was a defensive ace. A player who would most probably make his living by virtue of his hustle and heart – who was, nonetheless, working to round out his game.
“You won’t see what I do in the stats. Zero points. Kung zero points talaga ako, parang wala talaga akong kwenta,” he remarked.
“But all those little details I do – pressuring defense, hustling, giving extra passes – that’s how I help the team.”
In the first place, the 6-foot guard with Gilas in Hanoi wasn’t necessarily part of the plan. Originally.
(C) Jerome Ascano/POC-PSC Media Group
“I was just supposed to be a practice player for the SEA Games,” he shared. “But then, an opportunity came up to join the team mismo, and I just took it. It just shows the work I put in. Wala naman talaga ako sa radar ng mga tao, pero pinaghirapan ko lahat ng nakuha ko.
“Coach Chot wouldn’t put me there if he didn’t see the work I put in.”
At the same time, though, nobody can blame the Philippines for assuming they remain the gold standard in Southeast Asia: they own 18 of the 20 championships and were on a 52-game win run before the sorry loss in the regional meet. And so, Montalbo understands. He’s not sweating it. He can take it.
“Whatever people say, I can’t please everyone. Whether they hate me, they love me, I’ll take it. It’ll hurt, tao lang naman ako, but it won’t define me,” he stated.
“It’ll just help me be a better person.”
The plan, then, is to make good use of all the talk, and turn it into additional fuel to the fire. With TNT, fortunately for them, getting to turn their attention to the All-Filipino conference, they have a golden opportunity to prove themselves anew.
Photo by PBA Images
“We embrace the challenge. It won’t define us. It won’t define our career. A single loss is a single loss,” detailed Montalbo. “We’re attacking, not defending, champions. We’re hungry for the title.”
In that light, the third-year guard also has a golden opportunity to prove how quickly, how convincingly he bounces back.
“Actually, all the talk, tinatandaan ko talaga. Like, I’ll remember you said that,” he quipped.
“Pag tinatamad akong gumising, rine-remember ko sinasabi mo tungkol sakin. So I’ll just go out there to prove myself and get better every day.”
First order of business: see to it that there will be no more games like that – games that can only be described by a not-so-nice word that begins with “sh” and ends with “t.”
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