Calvin Oftana starred as TNT blasted Rain or Shine, 116-99, to get near the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup semifinals, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The young winger erupted for 32 points, including 18 in the third quarter alone wherein the Tropang Giga seized control before breaking the game wide open in the ensuing period in an anticlimactic finish to what was a tight clash early.
Oftana would also be responsible for pushing their lead to its highest at 21, 108-87, with 5:56 left to play as they cruised to the 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 quarters series.
The crew could close it out in Game 2 on Sunday, May 12, 3 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum for their first semis trip since the 2023 Governors’ Cup.
“Credit to my teammates, coaches. Hinahanap nila ako para makuha ko ‘yan. Scoring-wise, ‘di ko naman iniisip yun, kung ano lang ‘yung binibigay sa akin,” said the former NCAA MVP, who also had nine rebounds.
Roger Pogoy was key as well in the triumph, finishing with 26 points, 17 of which he made in the first half to lead them to a 53-52 lead at the break.
Kelly Williams had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Jayson Castro came off the bench and added 11 points, four rebounds, five assists, and a steal without a turnover in the triumph that saw the Tropa nail 15 three-pointers.
Rain or Shine did hit the same amount of triples but overall, the squad of Coach Yeng Guiao shot only 39-percent from the floor — indeed a far cry from how TNT shot the ball as the unit converted 51-percent of their shots from the field.
It didn’t help the Elasto Painters that lead big man Beau Belga, after averaging 17.6 points entering the playoffs, got held to a conference-low five points.
“The key, we felt, was to control Beau because Beau is really, I think, the heart and soul of this team,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes.
“I thought if we could defend him – there’s no way we can really stop him – then that would increase our chances of winning. I think we were able to achieve that,” added the champion mentor as Belga shot just 2-of-10 from the field.
Santi Santillan led RoS with 23 points in the defeat. Elder statesman Mark Borboran made 13 points and five rebounds. Rookie Keith Datu and Andrei Caracut supplied 11 points apiece, while Jhonard Clarito chipped in 10.
The Scores:
TNT 116 – Oftana 32, Pogoy 26, K.Williams 19, Castro 11, Khobuntin 8, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 8, Aurin 4, Montalbo 3, Ponferrada 3, Heruela 2, Varilla 0, Galinato 0.
Rain or Shine 99 – Santillan 23, Borboran 13, Datu 11, Caracut 11, Clarito 10, Ildefonso 8, Nocum 7, Demusis 6, Belga 5, Mamuyac 4, Asistio 1, Norwood 0.
Quarterscores: 26-24, 53-52, 85-79, 116-99.
