By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Rey Nambatac played the hero once again for the Rain or Shine Elastopainters after sinking two clutch free throws with 1.3 seconds left to deliver the crucial win against the undermanned Northport squad, 70-68.
It was a grind-it-out type of game for the Elastopainters after facing a determined and resilient Northport squad, a thing head coach Pido Jarencio emphasized after absorbing disappointing losses in the bubble.
Christian Standhardinger and Garvo Lanete provided the scoring punch for Northport but found themselves in deep trouble soon as the third quarter started.
Rain or Shine’s clogging defense held Northport to just two points for the whole third quarter, tying the lowest score in a quarter in PBA history.
Since setting the defensive tone, the veteran Rain or Shine team carried their momentum and took control of the ball game until the final frame.
Kelly Nabong tried to mount a Northport rally on his own after draining back-to-back threes with under 1 minute left in the game to cut the lead to just three.
After a defensive stop, Northport ticked the clock down and orchestrated their offense, setting up a surging Standhardinger to tie the game at 68-all with 3.3 seconds left.
However, Nambatac’s aggressiveness was able to draw a foul against Northport and put the icing on the cake after draining his shots at the charity stripe.
