[Saba Sports News] The last time TNT played Rain or Shine in a best-in-three quarterfinal series, Tropang Giga hadn’t brought in Rey Nambatac. TNT had just welcomed back veteran coach Chot Reyes, who had returned as coach of the Philippine national team at a time when the team had been plagued by injuries and faced internal problems with Mikey Williams.
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Today, Rey Nambatac has become an important part of Tropang Giga, helping the team beat Rain or Shine 90-81 in the opening game of the best-in-seven PBA Governors’ Cup semi-final series. Batak South came close to Posting a double-10 in THE game, adding 14 points and nine rebounds, especially in the third quarter when he scored 11 points to lead a 36-23 shutout.
However, aside from the added motivation of going up against his old team, Reyes believes South Bataq is more focused on helping Tropang Giga return to the finals. The veteran coach said with the addition of South Batak, Tropang Giga have found the key jigsaw puzzle they were missing when they lost to Rain or Shine in the playoffs previously.
“The reason we couldn’t close the series last time was because Jayson Castro got hurt in Game 2, so he wasn’t available for Game 3,” Reyes recalled. That’s when they lost 2-1 to Rain or Shine in the quarter-finals of the Philippine Cup.