Calvin Oftana has yet to get a good night’s sleep since Gilas returned from a grueling journey abroad as part of its FIBA Asia Cup 2025 buildup.
But he hardly showed any sign of fatigue after helping TNT draw first blood versus Rain or Shine in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
The young winger finished with 22 points behind an excellent 6-of-8 clip from three as the Tropang Giga came away with the 88-84 win to take Game 1 of their best-of-7 series in truly a solid showing, considering how spent he is.
“Siguro, nasanay na rin,” he offered moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday. “Kasi yung mga travel namin, seven hours, 11 hours, tapos training agad, so parang nasanay na rin ‘yung katawan ko eh.
“Parang ganun lang din ‘yung mangyayari sa ibang players na naglalaro ngayon. Same way,” added the former NCAA MVP.
Oftana and the national team came back home just Tuesday morning — a tired bunch indeed after traveling to different cities as Coach Tim Cone and his staff wanted to squeeze in their preparations for the August showpiece.
The crew first came to Qatar for the 2nd Doha International Cup, then returned to Manila before flying out shortly after to play against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers’ third window.
The Filipino cagers bounced around three cities in total, and exhaustion inevitably became a problem. It showed in their defeats in their last two games in the Qatari tournament and in the continental cup qualifiers as well.
(C) FIBA.basketball
All in all, they went 1-4 in their overseas trip. Many believed that the players — especially those whose mother teams are in the PBA semis — would be suiting up for their respective ball clubs with tired legs.
But Oftana proved otherwise. In fact, he needed little time to get going in Game 1, dropping 12 of his 14 first-half points in just the second quarter.
Making it all the more impressive is the fact that the 29-year-old still chose to attend and take part in TNT’s practice the day before their series opener, knowing he could’ve opted to stay home and rest.
“Diretso ako practice. Ganun talaga eh. ‘Pag mga ganung bagay… Ginusto mo ‘yung larong basketball, so kailangan mo magsakripisyo talaga,” he said. “Pero mahal ko naman talaga ‘yung basketball, mahal ko ‘yung trabaho ko.”
Game 2 is this Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig. For now, though, Oftana plans to get some much-needed rest and recovery.
“Hopefully, makatulog ng maayos ngayon, para makapag-ensayo bukas for the next game,” he said, smiling.
