Oftana, Reyes look to celebrate more as TNT battles Ginebra
The NCAA alumni are continuing to pile up PBA accolades, with TNT’s Calvin Oftana, an ex-San Beda Red Lion, hailed as the PBA Press Corps Order of Merit winner for his exemplary run in Season 49 where he and the Tropang 5G came just short of completing a Triple Crown sweep.
Last year, San Miguel Beer’s CJ Perez, who blew into national consciousness while playing for Lyceum, won the Best Player of the Conference award in the Commissioner’s Cup, with Scottie Thompson, a Perpetual Help product, winning the season MVP award.
And not that Oftana is belittling how things are done elsewhere, he just thinks that the NCAA breeds a different kind of basketball pro.
“I think we had a different discipline over there,” Oftana told the Inquirer late Monday night after accepting his award from the men and women covering the PBA beat. “I put emphasis on discipline, time management and giving up my talent for hard work.
“It’s better to work hard even if you have the talent, because if you don’t you’ll be relying on your skills alone.”
Oftana, Perez and Thompson are all part of the current Gilas Pilipinas core, adding some NCAA flavor to the National team.
That discipline that Oftana highly spoke of isn’t limited to just three of them alone.
Ultimately, Oftana believes that everyone should learn from their mistakes, and that is something he has been working on ever since turning pro.
Currently, Oftana is on a mission to bring the Tropang 5G back to the promised land after falling short of a Grand slam by finishing second to the Beermen and Perez in the Philippine Cup.
And that San Miguel win has sort of enabled Perez to ease some of the pain away, pain dealt by Oftana and the Red Lions in two NCAA title series.
Incidentally, Oftana and Thompson cross paths on Wednesday when the Tropang 5G try to keep the Gin Kings winless in two games as Season 50 eliminations of the Philippine Cup resume at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. with TNT shooting to win a second straight game to further celebrate not only Oftana’s latest accolade but also coach Chot Reyes’ record-extending seventh Coach of the Year award.
The 61-year-old Reyes won the title over Leo Austria after steering the Tropang 5G to two titles.
Blackwater also returns into action at 5:15 p.m. looking to deal slumping Meralco a third straight defeat.
