PBA: Calvin Oftana comes alive for TNT after wake-up call from coach Chot

TNT Tropang Giga’s Calvin Oftana in the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Calvin Oftana gifted coach Chot Reyes a victory in his return as TNT coach, but it didn’t come easily.

After tallying just six points in the first half of Tropang Giga’s 108-107 squeaker over Rain or Shine in the PBA Philippine Cup, Oftana got a jolting reminder from Reyes.

“Coach woke me up. Mostly, I wasn’t receiving the ball and when I did, I was trying to get my timing right until coach screamed at me. He had already screamed at me before for my mistakes but this time, he was shouting ‘Calvin, shoot it!” so that became my opening,” said the Gilas Pilipinas swingman.

“If Pogoy (Roger) is subbed out, I replace him inside so I really needed to contribute.”

Oftana ended up with a monster double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds. Five of his 23 points came at the last two-minute mark of the game which saw TNT erase the Elasto Painters’ lead that went up to 10 in the payoff period.

READ: PBA: TNT slips past Rain or Shine in coach Chot Reyes’ return

Reyes, on the other hand, explained that he urged Oftana to take more opportunities even if he was playing in foul trouble.

“He didn’t have opportunities in the first half because he was in foul trouble and that really messed up his rhythm, he was just kind of coasting through and he was very cautious so I told him, ‘Calvin, it’s time for you to attack,” said Reyes.

“That’s how basketball is, you have to get the ball into the hoop,” he added.

Oftana only had three days to rest from action as he played in Gilas’ dominant win over Chinese Taipei on Sunday, 106-53, at Philsports Arena.

In that game, the TNT skipper scored 13 while sinking three three-pointers.