Oftana says Gilas Pilipinas’ Asian Games exit should serve as lesson

VETERAN. Calvin Oftana in action for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.

FIBA

Despite being a last-minute inclusion, Calvin Oftana emerges as Gilas Pilipinas' best player, although his Asian Games run ends early as the Philippines fails to reach the quarterfinals

AT A GLANCE

• Gilas Pilipinas failed to reach the Asian Games quarterfinals after a significant loss to China.
• Despite the loss, player Calvin Oftana emphasized the importance of learning from the experience and maintaining a positive outlook for future competitions.

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MANILA, Philippines – It may have been a painful lesson, but Gilas Pilipinas should learn from its disappointing Asian Games campaign. 

Calvin Oftana believes such after the Philippines failed to reach the quarterfinals, its title defense thwarted in a brutal 105-61 loss to China in its final group stage game in Nagoya, Japan, on Monday, September 14.

The blowout sent the Nationals to their lowest Asian Games finish, worse than their seventh-place showing in the 2014 edition. 

“It feels bad, of course. We don’t want this kind of result for the team and for our fellow Filipinos. But this is something we should learn from,” Oftana told Cignal in Filipino. 

Without the triple towers of Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, and June Mar Fajardo, who all played key roles in the Philippines’ fourth-window sweep in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in August, Gilas Pilipinas struggled to keep in step with China, which paraded several imposing big men.

Six-foot-nine forward Wang Junjie dominated with a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double, 6-foot-11 centers Jiao Boqiao and Hu Jinqiu delivered 11 and 10 points, respectively, and combined for 10 rebounds, while 7-foot-3 giant Yu Jiahao added 9 points. 

That daunting Chinese frontline caused major problems for the Filipinos, who shot just 32% from the field and got outrebounded 36-55. 

“I think height really is might. The other team’s composure was on another level, while we had a lot of lapses. We weren’t able to execute our game plan and we missed shots that we should have converted,” said Oftana.

“But that’s just how it is. It won’t always be your day. We don’t want this, but we just have to keep our heads up and move forward.” 

Despite being a last-minute inclusion as he occupied the spot originally reserved for Justin Brownlee, Oftana emerged as the Philippines’ best player with an average of 18.7 points, ranking sixth among all players at the end of the group stage.

Oftana fired 31 points in a sorry 89-85 loss to Bahrain, contributed 12 points in a 109-78 beating of Kazakhstan, then finished with 13 points against China.

The only remnant of the 2023 championship squad, Oftana accepts how things turned out. 

“I have no regrets. Like I told my teammates, way to represent the country, heads up, way to battle,” said Oftana. – Rappler.com