JAYSON CASTRO may have just found his heir apparent in leading the great revival of the TNT Tropang Giga kingdom in the PBA.
And his name is Rey Nambatac, a former Letran “Knight” rising through the ranks in only less than a year since his arrival to the TNT stable.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran stalwart Mr. Nambatac, the newly-crowned Finals MVP in the just-concluded PBA Commissioners’ Cup and the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft by Rain or Shine who had a short gig for Blackwater before finding his way to TNT, got the blessing from Mr. Castro in the semifinals when the latter went down with a season-ending knee injury.
The bona fide Letran Knight didn’t disappoint his guru, embracing the challenge and the responsibility by registering 17.85 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in seven games as the Tropang Giga escaped with a thrilling 87-83 overtime win in Game 7 against Barangay Ginebra.
He saved his best for last, tallying 22 points, two rebounds, four assists in three steals to back up three-time Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who hobbled through the extra session due to a leg injury, with more than 21,000 fans in attendance at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mr. Nambatac’s Finals MVP citation mirrored Mr. Castro’s feat in the Governors’ Cup for TNT, a 4-2 series winner also against Ginebra to make it two straight titles in Season 49 — with now a clear sight for a rare Grand Slam conquest in the forthcoming Philippine Cup.
Mr. Castro, who’s coming off a successful operation to repair his full thickness patellar tendon tear on his right knee but still showed support in Game 6 and 7, refused to own the credits to Mr. Nambatac’s birth as the new lead star in TNT.
For the 10-time champion, five-time Best Player of the Conference and three-time Finals MVP Mr. Castro, Mr. Nambatac earned his stripes in this smooth changing of the guard and it’s only a matter of when he would finally and fully assume the throne in the TNT realm. — John Bryan Ulanday
