THE PBA held two games of the Philippine Cup in separate venues on Saturday including a first-ever in Candon, Ilocos Sur.
Rain or Shine stretched its winning run to four games by shooting down Terrafirma, 116-104, at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, up North in Ilocos Sur, TNT scores a come-from-behind 104-101 win over NLEX in a shootout pitting two of the league’s finest marksmen in Robert Bolick and Calvin Oftana.
So what are the takeaways in Saturday’s rare doubleheader in separate venues?
1, Calvin Oftana validated he’s a star on the rise in the league by erupting for 37 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. He had 27 points in the second half, including 15 in the final quarter where the Tropang Giga rallied back after trailing by as many as 11 points. His 37 points equaled his previous career high. Also to be noted is Oftana’s 12 rebounds and six assists in a well-rounded game that notched TNT a second straight win for a 4-3 record in a tie for the no. 4 spot along with Barangay Ginebra.
2. Beau Belga is having a second wind at Rain or Shine as the veteran big man was at the forefront again of yet another win by the Elasto Painters, this time against the Terrafirma Dyip. The 37-year-old Belga finished with 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range and had seven rebounds and eight assists. Averaging 16.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, the consistency of Belga’s game even had the Rain or Shine center in the running – at no. 8 – in the initial tally for the Best Player of the Conference award.
3. Is this a case of déjà vu for Rain or Shine? The Elasto Painters currently owned the second-longest win streak in the conference at four to even their record at 4-4 for solo fifth place. They initially lost their first four games to start their campaign. Of course, during the last Commissioner’s Cup, the team dropped their first five outings and then strung up six straight wins to finish with a 6-5 record and made it to the playoffs. Will lightning strike twice for Rain or Shine? By the way, the Elasto Painters delivered 40 assists in the win over the Dyip, the first team with the most number of assists since San Miguel had 46 in a 145-132 win over Northport in last season’s Governors Cup.
4. Lost in NLEX’s heartbreaker against TNT was Rob Herndon’s finest game as a Road Warrior. The 30-year-old shooting guard equaled his career game with 25 points spiked by a 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc as he provided a perfect alternate for NLEX star Robert Bolick, who finished with 23 points.
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