MONTALBAN – Calvin Oftana felt bad for being ejected for the first time in his PBA career, and more so, for not being of help to TNT as it pounded a scrambling 97-92 win over Titan Ultra in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Saturday.
Oftana was tossed out with just seven minutes gone in the sold-out contest at the Ynares Center following inadvertently hitting rookie Mark Denver Omega in the face after trying to shoot the ball off a double team.
The 30-year-old forward was ejected at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter and the Tropang 5G trailing, 13-15.
Omega was called for a foul on Oftana, who unfortunately smacked the Titan Ultra big man on the face following his shot.
READ: Incredible Bol drops 50 to carry TNT past gritty Titan Ultra
“It wasn’t intentional. Hindi naman nakasara yung kamay ko kapag tumitira ako. It just so happened, pag land ng kamay ko, naka-closed fist siya and natamaan siya sa mukha,” said the former NCAA MVP from San Beda.
It was also the first ever Flagrant Foul penalty 2 he committed in his PBA career.
“Kahit nga F1 wala naman ako, e,” said Oftana.
He was hoping a lighter call will be made, but nonetheless accept the decision of game officials.
“Napa-isip na rin ako nung hindi pa tinatawag kasi nga closed fist daw. Pero siyempre hoping pa rin ako na sana technical or F1 lang kasi wala naman akong previous record e," he stated.
He quickly apologiozed to the Tropang 5G at the halftime break.
“I really felt bad and I said sorry to the team,” said the native of Danao, Cebu.
Oftana spent the rest of the game watching the match on his cellphone inside the TNT dugout, and felt a sigh of relief as the team clawed its way to a third straight win and a 5-2 record.
He finished with two points and a rebound, far from his regular average of 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
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