“Yung role ko dito? Kung anong kulang sa team namin ‘yun yung itutulong ko… kulang sa cheer? Gagawin ko. Kulang sa depensa? Dedepensa ako. Kulang puso? Buong puso ko itataya ko para lang manalo kami,” as Oftana shared his exhilaration.

This former Red Lions posted 15.6 points per game last season and was also hailed as the Season MVP.

In relation to this, it was not surprising at all that Oftana has been called to man up the team in Bahrain. Yet, despite being a champion himself and definitely a gunner to the team; he shared that there’s still more room to improve.

“Kailangan natin maging handa eh. Eight months without playing is tough kaya you need to be in the right condition din sa mga months na yun. Iba pa rin kasi pag naglalaro ka talaga eh,” he propounded.

After months of not playing, Oftana did not expect that his return to the court would be in the international scene where he could possibly represent the country.

“Syempre excited ako na makabalik sa court, pero hindi ko in-expect na sa international level yung court na babalikan ko,” shared Oftana as he was included in the national team pool for the second window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers. 

“Na-excite ako. Sino ba naman ang hindi, lalo na’t lalaro ka para sa country mo? New opportunity, next level experience, and may matutunan kang iba na pwede mo pang ikakagaling dito sa Gilas,” he added.

Furthermore, Oftana did not have even an inch of problem in adjusting as familiar faces in the Gilas stint were also there including his Red Lion teammate, Kenmark Carino.

Also, head coach of Red Lions, Coach Boyet Fernandez is also there for he was named as a part of coach Jong Uichico’s coaching staff.

Playing in the collegiate tournament has a big discrepancy when it comes to playing internationally, but Oftana sees this on a brighter side to vitalize his passion for basketball.

“In this level of competition, you need to improve on many things in this short period of preparation and I know na things will be different. So sa akin, kung ano ang kulang sa team namin, yun yung itutulong ko,” he concluded.