When Jayson Castro was officially ruled out after suffering a full thickness patellar tear in his right knee, it left a gaping hole in the TNT Tropang Giga’s backcourt. Castro may be approaching 40, but he was nonetheless a steady contributor who could still pull off a vintage performance here and there. Now with him gone, the Tropang Giga have relied on a handful of players to step up in Castro’s place. 

In Game 3 of the 2024-2025 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, it was Rey Nambatac. 

TNT needed all of Nambatac’s game-high 24 points, five rebounds, and seven assists to take Game 3 from the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. The former Letran Knight has become a primary playmaker for the Tropang Giga and he has taken over in a number of possessions through his playmaking. Normally, he takes his cues from TNT’s main men in Castro and Calvin Oftana, but he has had to respond with the higher stakes and the talent they’re up against. 

Nambatac’s Game 3 performance wasn’t a career-high, but it was definitely one his more meaningful games at least as a member of the Tropang Giga. Not only were TNT missing a star, but they were also facing a Gin Kings squad raring to slip past them. 

The series is far from over, but it seems that Nambatac and the rest of the Tropang Giga have figured it out and have what it takes to end the series with a trophy in hand. TNT have had shooting, an area Nambatac maximized with his five 3-pointers, to counter the size advantage Ginebra’s frontcourt has. Of course, the Gin Kings will not go down without a fight and will definitely use the last three games to devise a plan against the Tropang Giga for the rest of the series. Nambatac’s only negative in Game 3 was his penchant for turnovers (four), something Ginebra can take advantage of through extra possessions and fastbreak runs. 

Despite that, TNT should not make any drastic changes beyond sharpening ball security. Ginebra is struggling to create distance from the Tropang Giga and Justin Brownlee’s thumb injury could widen the door to the championship. Of course, TNT cannot be complacent and should encourage the likes of Nambatac to keep attacking. 

Game 3s tend to be a moment in a championship series and Rey Nambatac and the TNT Tropang Giga took matters into their own hands to take a 2-1 series lead over the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. Right now, they have the upper hand and with momentum and the personnel advantage on their side, the title is theirs for the taking.