Kib Montalbo was one of many players who performed well in Gilas Pilipinas’ 88-64 win over India in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Montalbo had eight points, including a long three to end the third quarter, while adding three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench as the Filipino cagers win their first official game in the Asian Qualifiers.

Coach Chot Reyes, however, was hardly surprised with how Montalbo’s international debut turned out.

“Very, very happy for Kib,” Reyes said. “But honestly, I’m not surprised because that’s the type of player he is. He knows his role. He comes in off the bench, he’s our defensive spark and he’s going to go after and really give problems to the opposing ballhandler.

“But the good thing with Kib is that he has rounded up his game. Now you just cannot keep him open, and credit to his teammates. They trusted him and they found him in open spots and Kib simply delivered and did what he normally does,” he added.

The performance continued Montalbo’s rise that began during TNT’s title run in the PBA Philippine Cup when he was trusted by coach Chot Reyes to do his role primarily as a pesky defender.

Montalbo had been used sparingly in the early moments of that conference until a lopsided game against San Miguel Beer which TNT ended up losing set the stage for the ex-La Salle cager to gain more playing time.

Not even an injury-riddled Governors’ Cup prevented Montalbo from being considered for a Gilas spot after Reyes had to rely on some TNT players to reinforce the squad for the window following his sudden return to the national team role.

He eventually became one of six Tropang Giga cagers who are now in the FIBA bubble,, joining RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Poy Erram, Kelly Williams and Gab Banal.