After staring at the bottom of the barrel earlier in the 2025 Honda PBA Philippine Cup, the TNT Tropang 5G are back in the hunt for a PBA Grand Slam.
And they have Calvin Oftana to thank for that.
After an eight-point dud in the Tropang 5G’s 2025 Philippine Cup debut against the NLEX Road Warriors, Oftana proceeded to go on a scoring tear in the next five games that saw him score at least 20 points. His last three games in particular saw him average 26.0 points, with his latest performance against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters speaking volumes about his versatility.
Oftana wasn’t among TNT’s leading scorers in the 111-103 victory over the Elasto Painters, but he was nonetheless as lethal. Having a couple of teammates go off offensively allowed the three-time PBA champion to pick his spots and patiently work within the Tropang 5G’s offense to score. Oftana was able to find his rhythm from behind the 3-point line first, before going inside and punishing defenders who had the unfortunate task of trying to contain him.
While Oftana may not be the tallest or the hottest shooter on the floor on most nights, he is TNT’s ultimate mismatch. He’s tall enough to punish smaller defenders on the post and can shoot far enough to bring big men out of the paint. The two-time PBA All-Star’s combination of skill and size has made him a frequent choice for Gilas Pilipinas, and while his role there has been different, he has nonetheless found moments to be effective.
Given how things have played out in the 2025 Philippine Cup so far, there’s a case to be made for Oftana to be named the Best Player of the Conference (BPC). Not only is he among the top-two in scoring in the All-Filipino Conference, but he’s also done a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor to merit consideration.
However, winning the BPC in the Philippine Cup will require Oftana to have to put up herculean performances as he’s up against the likes of eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, Fajardo’s teammate CJ Perez, and Robert Bolick to name a few. As we’ve seen in recent games, though, he’s capable of doing so.
Although the Tropang 5G’s record is not ideal at the moment, their current trajectory could strengthen Oftana’s case, especially if he continues to become an integral part in their run right now. The 29-year old will also hope to avoid any major injury and thankfully, he’s only had minor injuries that haven’t made him miss a ton of games.
Like the MVP, a PBA BPC award is more often than not awarded to the best player on the best team and while it may seem so right now, Calvin Oftana could very well be the frontrunner for that race. Oftana has the talent to take over and the opportunities to showcase that skill and, if the TNT Tropang 5G make a run for the ages, look no further than Oftana to find the reason for such.
