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It is no secret that NLEX Road Warriors rookie Calvin Oftana has all the potential in the world that warranted a third overall pick in the super-stacked PBA Season 46 draft class.
That potential showed itself in full force after the former San Beda Red Lion roared to life with a career-high 34 points off a whopping 8-of-11 clip from three-point land against the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday, September 22.
With those eight triples, Oftana carved his place in PBA history as he broke a 34-year-old rookie record set by the legendary “Triggerman” Allan Caidic, who dropped seven long bombs for Great Taste in Game 2 of the 1987 Open Conference Finals, according to PBA head statistician Fidel Mangonon.
With a long range eruption like that, it should come as no surprise that Oftana actually caught the attention of one of the Philippines’ greatest snipers of all time.
“Magaling talaga ang bata na yan. Congratulations sa kanya,” Caidic told Mangonon. (That kid is really good. Congratulations to him.)
Coincidentally, as NLEX failed its comeback bid against Meralco, 104-101, Great Taste also lost that finals Game 2, 135-134, as Tanduay outgunned the Coffee Makers in overtime for a 2-0 series lead.
In that game, the rookie Triggerman led all scorers with 48 points, but his effort just barely fell short of Tanduay import David Thirdkill’s 42 markers, and 1977 league MVP Freddie Hubalde’s 33 points.
Dubious distinctions aside, Caidic made time to congratulate Oftana for his gutsy record-setting outburst, which featured his last three triples in the final 1:40 of regulation.
Prior to this game, the 25-year-old prospect had only been averaging 6.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in a little over 17 minutes per game with a team already featuring steady frontcourt veterans like JR Quiñahan, Raul Soyud, and Don Trollano.
With his 34-point performance now in the books, Oftana obliterated his previous career-best mark of 16 points, and his previous career-high in triples, which stood at a measly one make.
Despite the tough loss that ended NLEX’s Philippine Cup elimination round with a 5-6 record, Oftana will still have at least one more game to further prove himself as the Road Warriors still clinched one of the conference’s quarterfinals spots. – Rappler.com
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