[Last piece in a 10-part series]
PICKING a 'best' list is always a tricky proposition. One's choices do not always conform with what others think. And in a country like ours where basketball is what people eat for breakfast, we expect a vigorus debate as we come out with our list of 10 players who we thought ought to be added to the 40 Greatest PBA Players earlier chosen.
Our list is a selection that we will release, one player at a time, while the PBA itself is trying to form its own list of 10 to be selected by a committee formed by PBA commissioner Willie Marcial to complete the 50 Greatest in time for the league's 50th Anniversary celebration next month.
The selection committee is composed of league greats, former commissioners and select mediamen from different outlets.
We assure our readers that our selection is not influenced by what is deliberated closed doors by the committee whose members, including one from SPIN.ph, have vowed not to divulge any part of the discussion or voting procedure.
Here's the 10th and last installment of our series on 50 Greatest.
1. ARNULFO 'ARNIE' TUADLES
Read Tuadles piece HERE
2. NELSON ASAYTONO
Read Asaytono piece HERE
3. JUNE MAR FAJARDO
Read Fajardo piece HERE
4. RENE 'BONG' HAWKINS
Read Hawkins piece HERE
5. LEWIS ALFRED 'LA' TENORIO
Read Tenorio piece HERE
6. ABRAHAM COLUMBUS 'ABE' KING JR
Read King piece HERE
7. EARL SCOTTIE THOMPSON
Read Thompson piece HERE
8. DANIEL CHARLES 'DANNY' SEIGLE
Read Seigle pice HERE
9. JEFFERY JOAQUIN 'JEFF' CARIASO
Read Cariaso pice HERE
10. RANIDEL DE OCAMPO
THIRTY-FIVE percent.
That’s Ranidel de Ocampo’s career three-point shooting percentage. Not too shabby for a 6-foot-6 forward who rose to prominence at a time when big men were more known to be post presences who had to have back-to-the basket skills.
Make no mistake, RDO can also do what the likes of Danny Ildefonso and Asi Taulava were doing back then. What set him apart from his peers, however, was his marksmanship – the very definition of a sweet-shooting big man.
His career mark, 35.4-percent to be exact, from deep puts him just behind the three players considered to be the Philippines best-ever shooters in Allan Caidic (36.8), Jimmy Alapag, (36.0), and Marcio Lassiter (39.0). Still, the fact remains that he wasn’t a guard – or a small forward in the PBA, even.
READ Chot wishes he had a defender like RDO to throw at Towns
That means that as a stretch four, or nominal five sometimes, de Ocampo also had to take care of the boards and make plays for his teammates if need be. He did those well, too, as he averaged 12.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27 minutes of play through a 15-year career.
The fourth overall pick in a 2004 Rookie Draft that featured James Yap, Marc Pingris, and later on, Gary David, he was an impact player for a FedEx franchise that was looking for answers in hiring three coaches in Joe Lipa, Bong Ramos, and Bo Perasol in just one year.
RDO was key to the Express’ rise as plucky upstarts, but it wasn’t until he got traded to Talk N’ Text in 2008 that he shone as a bonafide superstar. His skillset was a perfect complement for their 1-2 punch at the backcourt in steady Alapag and speedster Jayson Castro.
Set the pick for ‘Mighty Mouse,’ and pop to a good look just right outside the arc. Swish. Find a spot from deep and watch ‘The Blur’ slice his way into the paint, sucking the defense into him, and kicking the ball out. Nothing but net.
And the rest, as they love to say, was history, as that trio led the Tropang Texters-turned-KaTropa-turned-Tropang Giga to six PBA championships from 2008-15. Somewhere along those titles, their sweet-shooting big man also nabbed two Finals MVP and one Best Player of the Conference awards, as well as nine All-Star nods and three Mythical First Team selections.
Ahead of his time was what de Ocampo was. And the play – shooting, skilled ballhandling, inside-outside impact - expected from forwards and centers nowadays was exactly what he delivered until his retirement in 2019.
All his accolades make him a strong candidate to be part of the PBA’s 50 Greatest Players set to be unveiled in time for the league’s golden year.
It’s Ranidel de Ocampo’s pioneering play as a modern big, however, that should make him a shoo-in. That’s a swish. That’s nothing but net.
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