CALVIN Oftana gave TNT a lifeline with a fiery third quarter where he accounted for 13 of their 35 points, hitting all four of his shots, as they mounted a comeback and trimmed the San Miguel lead to one in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals.
But just as he revived the Tropang 5G's chances in the third, he may have shot them out of the game in the fourth by firing blanks, as the Beermen evened the count in their best-of-seven affair with a 98-92 win on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: Trollano catches fire as San Miguel gets back at TNT in Game Two
Oftana missed all of his seven shots in the final frame, as well as both of his free throws after going 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the first three quarters of action where he already had 23 markers.
“Wala. Ayaw talaga pumasok,” he admitted. “I tried to help the team in my own way, pero parang napasama pa.”
That frustration couldn’t have been more evident than inside the final two-minute mark where he clanked a three-pointer with TNT down nine, 95-86.
While June Mar Fajardo got the rebound, Kelly Williams forced a steal and kicked out to Oftana who tried another triple, and this time only hit the backboard – perhaps a mean reminder that he has totally emptied his clip for the night.
Turnovers bite TNT in the behind once more
While his going cold was a part of their struggles, the Tropang 5G's loss went way beyond his nightmare fourth quarter.
Like in Game 1, TNT once again struggled to protect the ball in the final frame when the Beermen started to turn up the pressure.
In all, they turned the ball over five times in the fourth quarter, with Chris Ross accounting for three steals in that stretch – all resulting in baskets.
“We will look at it bukas sa training namin. Kailangan namin i-figure out kung [ano nangyayari] kasi parang Game 1, sa fourth quarter kami nadadali,” Oftana continued.
SMB got 24 points off 17 Tropang 5G turnovers in total. This, after the former turned the latter's 15 miscues into 22 points in Game 1.
Of course, Oftana knows they can’t win the series if they’re this careless with the ball.
“Yes, ganun din. Ayun talaga,” he said as soon as the word ‘turnovers’ was mentioned.
“Problema talaga yung (turnovers), kailangan ma-handle pa ng guards namin yung pressure nung kabila. Pero kailangan lahat mag-step up, learn from every game and hopefully, yung mga mali namin nung past two games, sa Game 3 maitama namin kasi yung mga mali namin nung Game 1, yun pa rin ang mali namin sa Game 2.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
