Calvin Oftana has heard the buzz surrounding the possibility of being named the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

“I’ve been asked about it for the last few weeks,” Oftana said, adding that his main focus is how he can get the job done for TNT against Barangay Ginebra in the Finals, which began at press time at Mall of Asia Arena.

Being on the championship stage is the reason why Oftana has a strong chance of claiming the award in what could be a neck and neck race with NorthPort star and good friend Arvin Tolentino.

READ: PBA: Arvin Tolentino, Calvin Oftana frontrunners for Best Player plum

Oftana and Tolentino are among the five candidates for the prestigious honor, along with San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, NLEX’s Robert Bolick and Converge rookie Jordan Heading.

Fajardo leads the Statistical Points category with an average of 42 followed by Bolick (37.1), Tolentino (36.3), Heading (32.6) and Oftana (31.9). Forty-five percent of the statistics will be used to determine the winner.

The rest will come from votes from the media, which has 30 percent, and the players, who have 25 percent. Historically, the winner has been decided on who has the most votes among those covering the league.

READ: PBA Finals: RHJ powers TNT past Ginebra for 1-0 lead

While Fajardo, holder of a record 11 BPCs, and Bolick have the edge in terms of numbers, voters won’t take heavy consideration on either player since San Miguel and NLEX both failed to make the playoffs.

How about Heading? Converge’s quarterfinal loss to Rain or Shine has put him out of the picture as well. No player that missed the playoff or played for a team that lost in the quarters has won the conference best player plum.

Humble beginnings

That leaves Tolentino and Oftana as the strongest contenders. Both have never won the award, but getting one would mean a lot at this early stage of their respective big league careers.

Tolentino had perhaps his best conference in the PBA, leading the Batang Pier to only their third semifinal appearance after topping the eliminations with a 9-2 record and defeating the Magnolia Hotshots in the quarters.

He averaged 20.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in 18 games, but struggled in the semis when NorthPort was decisively battered, 4-1, by Barangay Ginebra.

In that series, Tolentino scored just 12.8 points, though he had 7.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks.

Oftana came up with 18.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 18 games for the Tropang Giga through the end of the semis, and had been one of the reasons why they have a shot at a second straight championship.

A few weeks prior, he had mentioned Tolentino as a deserving winner, given the work he had done at NorthPort, but would be honored if the nod goes in his favor.

“If ever [I win the award], I would feel blessed, not because of what I’ve done individually, but because of what the team has accomplished,” he said.