Rey Nambatac landed the haymaker as TNT floored a dejected Ginebra in yet another down-the-wire affair, 87-85, to take the 2-1 lead in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Wednesday night.
The lefty playmaker nailed the tie-breaking triple from the corner for the 85-82 lead with 30.1 seconds left to play before Glenn Khobuntin widened the gap to five just moments later to make it even tougher for the Kings to keep in step.
Not even a Scottie Thompson trey with 2.6 seconds to spare were enough to reignite the Barangay’s hopes as time was no longer on their side.
And it couldn’t get any tougher, indeed, for the crowd darlings, as they had lost main man Justin Brownlee to a dislocated right thumb at the 6:42-mark of the third quarter, never to return as he was brought to the hospital.
“It took our very best,” said head coach Chot Reyes. “We actually talked about it when Justin went out, and I told the players that we’re going to see the best Ginebra here, so we have to be at our best.”
