PBA Finals: Rey Nambatac eyes bounce-back after scoreless Game 3

FILE–TNT Tropang 5G’s Rey Nambatac during Game 1 of the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals vs Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—After helping TNT even the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals in Game 2, Rey Nambatac struggled to make an impact in Game 3.

Nambatac was held scoreless as the Tropang 5G absorbed a 116-102 loss to Barangay Ginebra on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena, falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“The effort was there, especially on defense,” the streaky shooter said.

“It’s hard to be down by 20 points and you have to stop players multiple times but because of our aggressiveness on defense, we make mistakes with our fouls.”

Nambatac was held scoreless, but he did manage to tally five rebounds and three assists.

He had scored 19 points in Game 1 and 10 in Game 2, when TNT tied the series at one game apiece.

A big reason for his struggles was foul trouble.

The former Letran star picked up five fouls and was limited to just 17 minutes of action.

“We’ll see what’s wrong on my side, why I made those fouls. On my part, I have lapses on defense.”

Nambatac hopes to bounce back in Game 4 on Wednesday as TNT tries to even the series at 2-2.