MANILA, Philippines — Calvin Oftana has been shooting the lights out for TNT early in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The TNT gunner registered a career-high during Wednesday’s matchup against Magnolia when he fired 42 points and made nine 3-pointers on their way to a 103-100 victory, a much-needed tonic for the Tropang Giga squad that lost their first two games of the new conference.
The 28-year-old has actually been on a tear from the outside, making 6-for-10 shooting from the 3-point line in its 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.
With his play, Oftana was chosen sa the Pilipinas Live-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period December 10-15. He beat the likes of 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 when he poured 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, as per research of PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
“Calvin had an amazing game. I’m always happy to see Calvin play well and see the smile in his face. We actually have the same birthday [January 3]. It’s an amazing feeling,” said Hollis-Jefferson.