Cone commends Thompson for putting cuffs on TNT’s Oftana

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is happy with the way star guard Scottie Thompson locked up “MVP-like” Calvin Oftana in their Christmas Day clash versus TNT.
 
Thompson and the rest of the Gin Kings held on against Oftana and the depleted TNT Tropang Giga on Christmas Day to win 86-78. 

With the Tropang Giga playing All-Filipino due to an injury to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, they also missed the services of Jayson Castro.

This put the whole focus of Ginebra to Oftana, who still managed to finish with a game-high 27 points on 11-of-26 shooting.

Cone, in an interview after the game, said it was Thompson who asked to defend the sweet-shooting forward down the stretch. 

“[Thompson] asked for him. They’re best buddies from Gilas and they’re roommates from the Gilas team. They’re really, really tight. He said let me have him, let me have Calvin. We switched him over. Obviously, it was a good coaching move by Scottie to do that,” Cone told reporters.

Oftana made timely shots in the final minutes of the game. He scored a jumper that gave TNT a two-point lead, 74-72, with 5:26 remaining in the game. 

And with the Tropang Giga trailing by five, with less than three minutes remaining, he made a driving layup that cut the lead to three, 76-79. 

But Oftana missed crucial 3-pointers down the stretch. The first would have tied the game, and the other would have cut the lead to four.

The forward also had a turnover with mere seconds left. 

“Calvin was our target all the way through. He's having a tremendous, All-Star, MVP-like conference right now and so he was really our target,” Cone said. 

“We knew Jayson was not gonna play and we knew Rondae wasn’t gonna play, we could put our full attention unto Calvin,” he added.

The coach, however, also tipped his hat to Oftana as he “still found ways to get free and get open.” 

“A lot of credit to him. He really, really works hard in the game and that’s what you really appreciate,” he added. 

For his part, Thompson, who finished the game with a full statline of 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, insisted that he just “wanted to get close” with Calvin down the stretch. 

The former PBA MVP also bared that Ginebra team manager Alfrancis Chua also challenged him to guard Oftana, which gave him confidence. 

Ginebra’s win over TNT thrusted the team to a tie with No. 4 San Miguel.

TNT dropped to 4-5, and is tied with Rain or Shine.