Vital roles for key recruits

MANILA, Philippines — It’s their first PBA finals and the likes of TNT’s Rey Nambatac and Barangay Ginebra’s Stephen Holt are intent on seizing the day and wrapping it in gold.

“Finally, after seven years, naka-abot din ng finals,” said Nambatac as he looked forward to a bigger personal milestone in the form of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup title with TNT.

Nambatac spent his first six and a half years with Rain or Shine, reaching as far as the semifinal stage thrice, then played for Blackwater for one conference before joining the Tropang Giga via trade prior to the ongoing conference.

“Thankful ako sa mga coaches, kay coach Chot (Reyes), sa mga bosses, sa utility (staff), sa mga players especially dahil sila talaga ‘yung naging factor kung bakit mabilis ako nakapag-adjust sa team,” said the first-time finalist. “In-embrace ko talaga ang role kaya nag-fit ako sa TNT.”

Holt’s wait for his maiden finals stint wasn’t that long. After strutting his stuff and winning Rookie of the Year honors with Terrafirma, the fancied Fil-Am moved over to the Gin Kings via a major swap and immediately earned a shot at a breakthrough PBA crown.

“I’m super excited. It’s my second year in the PBA and I’ve already reached the finals and so I have to take advantage of this with this group and I feel like we’ll be very motivated,” he said.

Holt said he would come into the best-of-seven finals kicking off on Sunday with intense hunger after numerous close calls with his previous teams in Europe.

“My last championship was in 2017 (in the Czech NBL) so it’s been a long time. I’ve come in second place so many times in Europe and so I’ll use that as motivation here,” said the 32-year-old guard.

“Since the trade, I know what this culture is about putting the Ginebra jersey on and what it means to the fans and so now that we’re here and have this opportunity we have to seize it,” he added.

The 6-foot-4 guard braces for a potential defensive assignment against TNT’s prolific import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

“I don’t know if I’ll get the first crack at Rondae or (it would be) JB (Justin Brownlee) but obviously it’s going to be a mix between us and it’s going to be a total team effort,” Holt said. “He’s (Hollis-Jefferson) a great player, you can’t stop him, you just have to limit his touches, make every shot difficult so it’s going to be a tough task but we’re very excited.”