JARED Dillinger hopes to rekindle his winning partnership with Ranidel de Ocampo as the two chase another title together, this time with Meralco, in the coming PBA Governors Cup finals.
Dillinger and De Ocampo teamed up to win five championships while still with TnT Katropa. And now that they're reunited at Meralco, the two look forward to getting the Bolts the first PBA championship in franchise history.
The arrival of De Ocampo in a late-season trade has made the 33-year'old Dillinger all the more confident of upending defending champion Barangay Ginebra after losing to the Kings in six games of the finals of this same tournament last year.
"I've beem playing with that guy for so long as soon as he got here, we meshed well," he said of De Ocampo, his teammate at TnT from 2008 to 2013.
"You can see it in the games. I know where he's at and he knows where I'm at. We could easily pick off."
The Fil-Am guard pointed out how RDO has quickly made an impact for top seeded Meralco especially in the playoffs where he played a key role in the team's win over Blackwater in the quarterfinals and Star in the semis.
He expects the veteran stretch 4 to do the same against the Kings in the finals starting on Friday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.
"He plays simple basketball. He never looks like he's going fast. He looks like he's the slowest guy out there," said Dillinger.
"He knows how to get to his spot. I can say a lot of nice things about that guy. Everyone knows his game, his accomplishment."
Dillinger said RDO's presence and experience certainly gives Meralco a huge boost in its title campaign.
"We have a guy like that on a team, thanks so much. It really gives us a legitimate shot of winning a championship," said the veteran guard.
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