Gilas pals Thompson, Oftana relish fierce but friendly rivalry

Scottie Thompson and Calvin Oftana set their friendship aside as they went toe-to-toe against each other during the Christmas Day game between Barangay Ginebra and TNT.

The two, who became pals during their stint with Gilas Pilipinas during its buildup in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and later on the Asian games, found themselves guarding each other particularly down the stretch in the highly contested match that went the Kings’ way, 86-78.

Oftana, who had to take on the scoring cudgels for the shorthanded TNT, had the better performance statistics-wise, finishing with 27 points and five rebounds but Thompson still had the last laugh, providing the timely treys late in the game to help the Kings finish off the Tropang Giga.

Thompson, who had his share of the spotlight with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, more importantly managed to slow Oftana down in the final frame – a ploy that the do-it-all guard personally suggested to head coach Tim Cone.

“He actually asked for him. They are best buddies from the Gilas team and they’re really tight and he doesn’t want to lose,” revealed Cone.

“During a timeout with five minutes to go, he said let me have Calvin so we switched him over to Calvin. Obviously a great coaching move by Scottie to do that and he took the challenge down the stretch,” he furthered.

Thompson said he enjoyed defending against Oftana especially that he felt they bring the best out of each other as they are both eager to win.

“We both want to win para sa teams namin of course pag magkasama kami gusto rin namin manalo so yon lang talagang ginawa namin yung best namin para sa mother team namin,” said Thompson who had a friendly chat with Oftana after the game.

“After naman magkaibigan pa rin kami. it’s all friendly competition,” added the one-time league MVP.

Oftana echoed the same sentiments, saying that he is simply doing everything he can for the Tropang Giga who, aside from the absence of RR Pogoy and Mikey Williams, also played without Jayson Castro and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson during the contest.

“Kailangan din eh wala kaming Mikey, alang Roger and lalo na ngayon wala kaming Rondae. I think it’s part of my game naman and dindemand din ng mga coaches sakin credit to my teammates yung tiwala nila sa akin,” said Oftana referring to his offensive load for TNT.

He also credited Thompson for pulling the stops against him especially when the Kings were already pulling away.

“Credit to him alam naman natin yung capability ni Scottie it’s a good fight though. We still lost pero yung nga crucial yung mga next two games namin,” he added.