By JEREMIAH SEVILLA
SMART CLARK GIGA CITY – Rey Nambatac made sure to bounce back from a sorry miss the last time out.
After a botched game-winning layup against Alaska, Nambatac redeemed himself and drained a trey to send the game to overtime as Rain or Shine went on to win against a strong Barangay Ginebra side, 85-82, behind the big-time hits of Beau Belga Tuesday night.
The resilience paid off for Nambatac as the Elasto Painters climbed to No. 2 in the PBA Philippine Cup with a 4-1 card.
The 5-foot-11 lefty guard Nambatac admitted he had a sleepless night after that crucial miss against the Aces.
But thanks to the ROS veterans, the former NCAA champion was able to quickly move on and regain his confidence in taking shots in the endgame.
“Pero ‘yun nga sabi ng mga teammates ko, lalo na ng mga veterans, nangyayari talaga ‘yung mga ganung bagay. Kumbaga, hindi araw-araw Sunday.”
“Naging extra motivation din coming into this game na I’ll make sure pagdating sa mga ganung crucial ulit, makapag-isip ako kung anong dapat kong gawin. Luckily, ‘yung last shot ko naman against Ginebra masasabi ko kahit papaano nakabawi rin.”
It was the second time in the bubble that Nambatac came up clutch for Rain or Shine. The 26-year-old gunner from Letran knocked down the go-ahead triple that lifted the Painters to an 87-83 victory over San Miguel last October 13.
Head coach Caloy Garcia has nothing but praises for his young ward, adding that he will be the future of the league.
“Like I said from the beginning. Rey is a different type of player. He is going to be the future of the PBA. He will be a superstar eventually. He likes that position that he takes those shots.”
For his part, Nambatac is just repaying Garcia’s unwavering trust in him.
“It’s all about hard work and tiwala rin ni coach Caloy ang nagpapadagdag sa’kin ng confidence. Sinasabi niya na ‘Just do your thing, trust me. Magtiwala ka lang sa’kin ‘di kita pababayaan. Tutulungan kitang i-angat yung career mo.'”
“Ako naman sinusuklian ko lang ‘yung ginawa ni coach Caloy na sobrang laki ng tiwala niya sa’kin.”
