THERE was no big-time explosion from Calvin Oftana yesterday, but he made the shot that mattered most as NLEX squeaked past Meralco 81-80 and forced a deciding game in their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals duel at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Just as coach Yeng Guiao drew the play in the game’s last timeout, Oftana made a hard cut to the basket, received the inbound pass from Jericho Cruz, and laid it up as the Road Warriors surged by one with just 6.1 seconds left.
“It was intended for him,” Guiao said of the third overall pick in the last rookie draft who notched 34 points, anchored on a rookie record eight triples, in a 101-104 loss to the same team last week.
He managed just 12 points this time but came up with the biggest shot of the game, preserving teammate Anthony Semerad’s own sterling effort of 23 points.
“It went exactly as we planned it,” added Guiao. “But, of course, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t happen for you. But we’re really lucky that it happened for us this time.”
With the Bolts having no timeout left, Cliff Hodge was forced to take a hurried heave from near the midcourt line that was thwarted by JR Quinahan, officially negating seventh-seeded NLEX’s twice-to-beat handicap over the second-ranked Meralco.
The rubber match is set tomorrow, with the winner advancing to the best-of-seven semifinals against the victor of the other quarterfinal pairing pitting Magnolia and Rain or Shine.
“We’re just trying to survive every game,” said Guiao. “Meralco is a really strong team.
They’ve been playing solid since this tournament started. There’s a reason why they’re second.”
Meralco moved into position to end the series quickly when Reynel Hugnatan, back from a two-game absence while attending the wake of his mother in Bacolod, had back-to-back baskets to push the Bolts ahead 80-79.
Meralco gained a chance to stretch that lead further when Oftana missed a triple and Mac Belo was sent to the charity stripe by Quinahan, still 8.6 seconds left.
But Belo missed both free throws and Quinahan grabbed the defensive rebound while immediately calling timeout to give Guiao the chance to map out the game-winning play.
In all, the Road Warriors did what Guiao asked by making the game close while combining for a more balanced effort.
Oftana also finished with nine rebounds and five assists while Don Trollano also finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Cruz chipped in 10 points while Quinahan only had four points, but his pair of free throws gave NLEX a 79-76 lead.
