Chot says having Nambatac to spell Castro 'a luxury'

MANILA, Philippines — Chot Reyes considers himself fortunate to have a stable veteran guard in Rey Nambatac, who can bring in quality minutes whenever long-time superstar guard Jayson Castro needed to a breather in TNT's ongoing PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup campaign.And Sunday's game was another proof of that.Nambatac, the team's prized offseason acquisition did much of the damage in the first half that saw him score 14 of his 17 points, while Castro dropped nine of his 14 in the second half, including the dagger triple late in the game as TNT scored a vengeful 98-91 win over Converge."Great, great impact," Reyes said, in describing Nambatac's contribution to the team. "The reason Jayson is able to play these quality minutes is because of the minutes Rey is playing, allowing him (Castro) to get alot of rest."Nambatac landed at the Tropang Giga after being dealt by the Bossing in exchange for Kib Montalbo, big man Jewel Ponferada and a future second-round pick (Season 53).The left-handed former Letran standout has provided his customary steady offense for a TNT side that has been dealing with injury issues to some of its veterans in the early goings of the import-spiced conference.What puts as smile on Reyes' face these days is that Nambatac or Castro don't even complain as to who will get to play in the dying minutes of each game."It depends on the situation and how the energy and flow os the game is going. There are times in the past it was Rey there (in the endgame) and not Jayson. But the good thing, both of them has no problem with that. It doesn't matter and literally it doesn't have to be what we need to talk about it," explained Reyes, who led the Tropang Giga to the 2022 Governors' Cup championship.The outspoken TNT mentor said such arrangement is a "luxury" already for him.And for the "Blur", having Nambatac sure is a luxury as well, knowing he doesn't have to do all the lifting this season."I'm really thankful for the coaching staff and of course to my teammates because of the confidence they still have on me," Castro said in Filipino. "I'm always ready every time I get to play in crucial possessions."Castro, now 38, is in the twilight of his illustrious PBA career. The former two-time FIBA Best Point guard in Asia has played through an assortment of injuries for the past two seasons, a reason why having Nambatac to spell him out at some points of the game allow the TNT superstar to be fresh when the Tropang Giga need him in crucial moments.TNT will have a few days off, before returning to action this Thursday to face streaking Meralco in a battle of top squads in Group A.