A KEY figure from the opposite side of the fence was among those who’ve taken notice of rookie Calvin Oftana’s PBA career game.
Chris Newsome was the first to acknowledge the promise of the NLEX freshman after he exploded for 34 points in a 104-101 loss to the Meralco Bolts in their PBA Philippine Cup encounter on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym.
“Oftana got unlimited potential,” tweeted the 31-year-old Newsome, a former Rookie of the Year.
Newsome actually was no longer around to see Oftana do the most damage against the Bolts in the fourth quarter following the Meralco guard's ejection after an altercation with Anthony Semerad.
The No. 3 overall pick in the last draft had 13 points in the fourth quarter and added three more from deep to lead an NLEX rally that just fell short in the endgame.
In all, the former NCAA MVP from San Beda finished with 34 points on 8-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc and 12-of-18 from the field in 29 minutes of play.
Oftana already broke the all-time record in three point attempts made by a rookie at eighth, erasing the 34-year mark of PBA great Allan Caidic at seven in Game 2 of the 1987 Open Conference Finals while playing for Great Taste.
Like Oftana and the Road Warriors, Caidic and the Coffee Makers suffered the same fate, losing to Tanduay Tanduay in overtime, 135-134.
The Road Warriors fell to a 5-6 record and now awaits the fate of the remaining games in the eliminations to know their fate moving forward.
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