CALVIN Oftana rued a late non-call against TNT, but pointed to his team’s sluggish start that led to a 102-100 loss to Barangay Ginebra in Game One of the PBA 50th Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Wednesday.
With 0.6 second left, TNT coach Chot Reyes drew a clever play off a timeout that had Oftana curling off import Chris McCullough to get open for an alley-oop off an inbound pass by Jordan Heading that would’ve sent the game to overtime.
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Instead, Oftana failed to convert against the outstretched arms of Brownlee as the Tropang 5G fell short of completing a comeback from 18 points down at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“Alam ko may foul talaga eh, pero point-six seconds na lang yung time, talagang glimpse of an eye na lang yung nangyari. Talagang dinraw ni coach yung play na yun,” Oftana said.
“Ganun talaga, pero mahaba pa naman yung series, so move forward na lang and adjust sa Game Two,” he added.
More than that unproductive final offensive play, Oftana pointed to the Tropang 5G’s sluggish start that led to their downfall.
“Mas maiisip mo yung first half namin. Ang sama din kasi, dami naming turnovers. They're making their shots. Kami naman, dami namin mali,” Oftana said as his team committed 15 turnovers, five more than Ginebra had.
“So mga ganoon bagay yung unang pasok pa lang, first quarter, second quarter, yun yung pinaka-importante,” he added
Oftana typified TNT’s woeful start as he ended up being held to 12 points on just seven shots against three turnovers in 40 minutes.
The 30-year-old three-time champion and the rest of the Tropang 5G try to recover in Game Two on Friday night also at the Big Dome.
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