Rey Nambatac has already proven that he is a loyal Knight to the Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
All throughout the season, second-year head coach Jeff Napa has pointed out that the Letran lifer is the captain that has kept this team together. Moreover, the 5-foot-11 guard proved that he can be an all-around player, posting norms of 15.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.9 steals.
But the Knights were in dire need of a win on Tuesday afternoon against the CSB Blazers. A loss would have spelled the end for Nambatac’s celebrated Letran career.
And the Knights had to slug it out against a gallant Blazers squad.
“Thought ko, hindi kami pwede maglaro ng ganito. Kailangan maglaro talaga kami as a group, as a whole. Kasi nung start, merong flat eh. Masakit mang sabihin, talagang merong may ganoon eh. Hindi ko alam kung ready ba sila maglaro today or what,” lamented Napa.
“Good thing, meron talagang mga deserving, gustong mag-step up, ayaw pa magbakasyon, kaya napunta sa amin.”
The student-athlete who stepped up was none other than Nambatac.
With 1:09 left and Letran up 61-59, misses by Dino San Juan and Pili led to a breakaway layup by JP Calvo. However, the Letran floor general overcooked the attempt. Fortunately for him, Nambatac was trailing behind, cleaning up the miss while drawing a foul on Pili to seal their playoff ticket.
And the only thing that had been on Nambatac’s mind was to fulfill his promise of leading Letran back to the Final Four.
“Una sa lahat ayaw ko pa magbakasyon kasi meron pa akong unfinished business dito sa Letran.
“First, makapag-Final Four, and after that, Finals, and hopefully, makuha ulit namin ang champion,” shared Nambatac, who finished the game with 18 markers, “Hindi ko iniisip na every game, last game ko na. Kaya nga pagpasok ko sa loob ng court, talagang binibigay ko lahat yung best effort ko para sa ikabubuti ng team at para makuha namin ang panalo.”
With another lease on life, Nambatac — who will join the 2017 PBA Draft — emphasized that they can’t play this way once they face the Arellano Chiefs in a win-or-go-home game on Friday.
“Hindi kami puwede mag-relax, kahit sinabi nating wala na si Kent Salado, intact pa rin yung team na yun kahit wala na si Salado,” shared Nambatac, who, just like Salado hails, from Cagayan de Oro, “So siguro dadaanin namin sa ano lang, team work, and discipline.
“Pero ang pinaka-importante yung depensa, kasi yung depensa namin, yun ang magpapanalo sa amin.”
