The entry of shifty guard Rey Nambatac to TNT’s fold right after the three-player trade involving Blackwater was approved, will certainly guarantee the Tropang Giga a dependable guard in the coming Philippine Basketball Association season.
Team manager Jojo Lastimosa sees Nambatac, acquired from the Bossing in a trade with big man Jewel Ponferada and guard Kib Montalbo, as equally valuable as Mikey Williams, the highly-talented but disgruntled guard, whose contract was terminated by the Tropang Giga in the season just passed.
“I see Rey as a stabilizing player and a dependable scorer. He’s not a Mikey, but Rey can demand attention from defenders,” wrote Lastimosa in a Viber message to Pinoystep.com.
No one player can replicate Williams’ contribution at TNT, but to make up for the absence of the two-time champion and two-time Finals Most Valuable Player, the Tropang Giga will have to fill in that huge void by acquiring multiple players.
Aside from getting Nambatac, TNT also elevated Almond Vosotros and Ping Exciminiano, two guards who cna bring different dynamics to the Tropang Giga.
Vosotros was a top 3×3 player and has been the source of production of TNT’s multiple-champion team in the previous standalone tournament.
With the 3×3 event scrapped, Vosotros became available and immediately, he was signed up by his mother team to shore up the team’s backcourt along with Exciminiano.
“We needed more guards, so we picked up Vosotros and Exciminiano from 3×3,” added Lastimosa.
