MANILA – Calvin Oftana took over the scoring for TNT Tropang Giga in the endgame as they survived with a 108-107 victory over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Down 99-104 with over three minutes left, the Tropang Giga got a layup from Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and two free throws from Jayson Castro to cut the deficit to 103-104 with two minutes left.
Oftana then connected a three-pointer to give the Tropang Giga its first lead in the second half at 106-104 before he converted a layup to widen the advantage to 108-104 with under a minute left.
Painters’ Andrei Caracut then split his free throws to cut the deficit to 105-108 before they regained possession but, instead of attempting a three-pointer to force a deadlock, Jhonard Clarito opted for a layup to cut the deficit to one.
Oftana finished with a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Roger Pogoy added 22 markers as the Tropang Giga tied Blackwater Bossing on top with 1-0 win-loss slate.
Rookie Kim Aurin also made his presence felt with 21 points, Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Castro contributed 14 points for the Tropang Giga.
After falling behind by as much as 10 points in the third quarter, the Tropang Giga slowly clawed their way back in the fourth frame behind Oftana and Aurin to tie the score at 90-all.
The Painters, however, responded with baskets from Keith Datu and Adrian Nocum as they took a 100-95 lead, but the Tropang Giga once again made a run behind Castro and Oftana to snatch the victory.
“Well, I do not know how we won that game, I guess we are just lucky that Rain or Shine missed their free throws,” said Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes. “We dodged a bullet in this game, I guess we have to go back and fix our defense.”
Nocum finished with a career-high of 20 points, Leonard Santillan added a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Caracut, Shawn Ildefonso, and Beau Belga ended with 15, 11, and 10, respectively, for the Painters./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 108 – Oftana 23, Pogoy 22, Aurin 21, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 15, Castro 14, Galinato 4, Khobuntin 4, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Montalbo 2, Williams 0, Ebona 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0, Ponferrada 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 107 – Nocum 20, Santillan 20, Caracut 15, Ildefonso 11, Belga 10, Datu 8, Demusis 6, Clarito 6, Mamuyac 5, Borboran 4, Norwood 2, Concepcion 0.
Quarterscores: 26-26, 51-52, 83-88, 108-107.
