MANILA – Rey Nambatac’s move to TNT Tropang Giga from Blackwater Bossing was finally granted by the PBA Commissioner’s Office’s trade committee on Tuesday morning.
In an advisory posted on the PBA website, the league’s trade committee approved Nambatac’s trade to the Tropang Giga, while the Bossing received Bacolodnon Kib Montalbo, Jewel Ponferrada, and TNT’s 53rd season second round pick.
Nambatac’s transfer from the Bossing to the Tropang Giga did not come easy, as it took close to a month before getting the PBA trade committee’s stamp of approval.
The trade was first sent for PBA approval on June 5, where Nambatac will head to the Tropang Giga and the Bossing will only receive Montalbo and a future second-round pick.
But the PBA trade committee rejected the first proposal as it urged the Tropang Giga to add either Negrense Paul Varilla or Barkley Eboña to make the deal look balanced.
The Bossing, however, were uninterested in taking either Varilla or Eboña before the two teams finally came to an agreement by adding Ponferrada instead to the Tropang Giga’s trade package last Thursday.
The arrival of Nambatac will be a huge boost to the already powerhouse lineup of the Tropang Giga, which were stunningly kicked out by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
The former Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game in his sole conference for Blackwater in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.
Montalbo and Ponferrada, on the other hand, will add to the growing list of former Tropang Giga players who were traded to the Bossing in exchange for the young superstars.
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Other current Bossing players who came from the Tropang Giga camp are former Gilas Pilipinas forward Jeth Troy Rosario, Frederick Tungcab, and Bacolodnon center Justin Chua./PN
