Rich get richer again: PBA approves Blackwater-TNT trade for Rey Nambatac

MANILA, Philippines – The Blackwater franchise is once again responsible for boosting a Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) team in the PBA as the league approved on Tuesday, July 2, a trade that will send star guard Rey Nambatac to the TNT Tropang Giga for reserves Kib Montalbo and Jewel Ponferada.

TNT is also throwing in a 2028 second-round pick to the Bossing, who will be gutted with star power anew just a few weeks removed from a promising 2024 Philippine Cup campaign that netted them a 3-0 start before fizzling out to a 4-7 finish.

The Tropang Giga, meanwhile, are getting a shot in the arm with Nambatac, a do-it-all floor general who averaged 11.1 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in his last conference with Blackwater.

The flagship MVP franchise is coming off a lackluster 2023-2024 season for their lofty standards, finishing eighth out of 12 in the Commissioner’s Cup, and fourth in the Philippine Cup via a first-round playoffs exit at the hands of Rain or Shine.

With more titles in sight, TNT is acquiring Nambatac in exchange for Montalbo, who recently averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 assists in the Philippine Cup, and Ponferada, who normed 4.5 points and 2.3 boards in the same conference.

Nambatac joins a star-studded Tropang Giga core led by Calvin Oftana, Roger Pogoy, Jayson Castro, and Kelly Williams, while Blackwater will lean on the likes of Christian David, Troy Rosario, Rey Suerte, and RK Ilagan with their star guard gone. – Rappler.com