It’s now a best-of-three finale between TNT and Ginebra.
TNT Tropang Giga coach Jojo Lastimosa wasn’t exactly worried as to who would fill injured RR Pogoy’s shoes as far as offense is concerned in Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
After all, the Tropang Giga had a “bona fide scorer” in Calvin Oftana.
He was right. Oftana delivered four three-pointers and finished with 16 points as TNT set a new record in a 116-104 win over Ginebra to even the series at two games apiece on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
TNT now holds the record for most triples made in a finals series, breaking the 20 it made in Game 7 of the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup finale against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
There was no inspiration or added motivation whatsoever for Oftana.
“Wala lang, same as usual,” said Oftana when asked about his mindset heading into the game. “Kung ano 'yung tine-training, kung ano paghahanda ko before the game, same as usual.”
He was simply told to take those shots. So he did.
“Sabi sa’kin ni coach, be ready kasi wala si Roger. I took those shots. Sabi ni coach, ‘pag nakuha ko, tira ko daw. Luckily, pumapasok mga tira ko ngayon,” he said.
Lastimosa said Oftana's hot shooting also stems from spacing, something the Tropang Giga lacked in their Game 3 loss to the defending champions.
“Calvin just had a lot of looks tonight. It stems from our spacing and, of course, it helps that Calvin played a lot of minutes, too,” said Lastimosa, whose team's leading scorer in Pogoy suffered a fractured finger last game.
But aside from the former NCAA MVP with the San Beda Red Lions, other Tropang Giga stepped up, too.
Jayson Castro, Mikey Williams, and Kib Montalbo each hit four from the beyond the arc, while newly minted Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, best known for taking the ball to the rim, had three three-pointers.
TNT can seize the lead when the two teams meet again in Game 5 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.