CALVIN Oftana has been the perfect offensive weapon for TNT early in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The TNT gunner registered a career-high in last Wednesday’s battle against Magnolia, firing 42 points and making nine threes on their way to a 103-100 victory, a much-needed tonic for the Tropang Giga squad that lost their first two games.
Oftana, 28, has been on a tear from the outside, making 6-for-10 shooting from the three-point line in their defeat against NorthPort two weeks ago.
But the Gilas Pilipinas pool member did one better last Tuesday against Magnolia, one of the top defensive teams in the league, when he missed only five attempts from threes.
Oftana was chosen as the Pilipinas Live-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for December 10-15, beating June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel and previous POW winner Joshua Munzon of NorthPort for the plum.
“Ginagawa ko naman ‘yun araw-araw sa practice,” said Oftana. “Confidence ‘yung binibigay ng coaches, si coach Chot (Reyes) sa amin, to take those shots. ‘Yun ‘yung sinasabi niya. Kapag libre, tira. And giving credit lang din sa mga teammates ko.”
In that game, Oftana’s teammate, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, also had a big game with 41 points, becoming the first import-local combo since Terrance Bailey had 45 and Allan Caidic had 43 in Presto Tivoli’s 147-136 win over San Miguel last September 29, 1991, according to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
“Calvin had an amazing game. I’m always happy to see Calvin play well and see the smile on his face. We actually have the same birthday [January 3]. It’s an amazing feeling,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
