Calvin Oftana was a thorn on the side of the Meralco Bolts in the last period after the 6’5” power forward eclipsed Philippine Basketball Association legend Allan Caidic’s best performance 34 years ago.
The 25-year-old Oftana of the NLEX Road Warriors shot a game-high 34 points built around eight triples, but the Bolts still escaped with a 104-101 win Wednesday in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Allein Maliksi went on to tally a team-high 22 points for the Bolts, who secured the second seed and the last twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
Caidic’s rookie record of seven triples fell as Oftana turned on the heat in the fourth period, sinking three treys in the last 25 seconds during a big rally which wiped out a Meralco’s comfortable 11-point lead to just 103-101. Caidic did the shooting virtuoso for Great Taste in Game 2 of PBA Open Conference finals on June 16, 1987 in a 135-134 overtime loss to Tanduay.
“It’s a game that we wanted to win. We have a game against Ginebra tomorrow, where we might be a little tired for playing back-to-back games. So, we felt this game was the most crucial one,” said Bolts coach Norman Black.
After Oftana unloaded his final trey with tick two ticks left, the Bolts sealed the win with a split charity from Raymund Almazan off JR Quinahan’s foul with a second to go.
Maliksi earlier gave the Bolts a 99-82 cushion with 7:13 to go with his two charities.
After that, the Road Warriors came charging back with a 13-3 rally which Quinahan touched off with his three freebies and Oftana fueled with his triples.
The Road Warriors, who also got 13 points from Quinahan, are still assured of a playoff spot, though and can settle for sixth or seventh position.
NLEX, with Raul Soyud making 14 points and 12 rebounds, ended the elimination round with a 5-6 record.