FIRST impressions last, right?
Maybe not in the case of Bong Quinto and Rey Nambatac, former teammates at Letran but now playing for separate teams in the PBA.
Quinto admitted Nambatac once struck him as aloof and arrogant during the time he tried out for the juniors team of the Intramuros-based school.
The Meralco sophomore guard recalled being blocked by Nambatac in one sequence of the scrimmage conducted by coach Monch Gavieres.
Nambatac by then was already the star player of the team, having been named NCAA Rookie of the Year in 2010 and Season MVP the following year.
“Nung nagta-try out ako binutata niya ako. Tapos tumatawa siya pag-block niya sa akin. Sabi ko ang yabang nito, a,” Quinto recalled with a big laugh in a recent Kamustahan episode of the PBA where Nambatac was also a guest.
“Huwag mo akong ila-laglag, Bong,” a giggling Nambatac replied.
Five days after, the two young players crossed paths at the school’s weights room.
Curious what the other athletes were doing, Quinto also did his thing, not knowing he was doing it the wrong way.
It was then that Nambatac approached him and taught Quinto how things should be done.
His future teammate also had a piece of advice for him.
“Sabi niya sa akin, ‘Boy, sipag ka lang, makukuha ka rin diyan,” Quinto recalled Nambatac telling him.
That made Quinto open up to Nambatac and forever change his impression of him.
“Nung time na yun, akala ko mayabang ito, yun pala ..,” he said with a chuckle.
With Nambatac guiding him, Quinto became NCAA juniors MVP and then Rookie of the Year during Season 88 (2012), although the Squires lost to eventual champion San Beda Red Cubs – led by Javee Mocon and Arvin Tolentino – in the Final Four.
The two won’t be teammates again until Quinto came on board the Letran Knights in 2013. Together, they won a championship for the team when the Knights upended the San Beda Red Lions in the 2015 Finals.
Now, they belong to different teams in the PBA - Nambatac with Rain or Shine and Quinto with Meralco. But the two are definitely among the rising young guards in the league today.
They can only look back, too, and laugh about the first time they met on the court almost a decade ago.
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