‘I had to take every opportunity,’ says PBA finals MVP De Ocampo
PBA finals MVP Ranidel De Ocampo holds up his trophy after the Texters’ clinched the commissioner’s cup crown. PBA IMAGES
There were 10 men on the floor, a floor that had legends like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Manny Pacquiao, Shaquille O’Neal, walk on it.
That floor became, in some point in history, someone’s Iwo Jima, or sometimes someone’s Waterloo.
Ranidel De Ocampo, Talk N’ Text’s ultra-reliable power forward, was determined to make Smart-Araneta Coliseum his Iwo Jima.
This was Game 7.
And if Game 7 wasn’t enough, his team needed two overtimes to put down the rabid Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Texters had the Painters in the corner as they led 96-89.
Talk N’ Text, however, was in for a sucker punch.
With 39.3 seconds remaining, Talk N’ Text import Ivan Johnson, who drew the ire of Rain or Shine supporters for his rough and temperamental play, split his charities while blood stained his jersey after a nasty fall off a rebound battle.
De Ocampo, feeling the fatigue of the grueling series, looked up at the scoreboard with his team leading 97-94.
With 26.2 seconds remaining, Painters import Wayne Chism, the charismatic Painters import, nailed an off-balanced three of the right wing that sent the game to overtime.
It would not be over yet as Talk N’ Text still had to hold off Rain or Shine, eager to break through their Tirad Pass.
“The game’s not over yet, you just have to set in your mind that the game’s not over until the final buzzer has sounded,” De Ocampo said.
Overtime saw De Ocampo as a mere private as the generals worked their strategies.
Second overtime came. De Ocampo knew he had to take charge.
In the first possession for the Texters, De Ocampo drove the lane, and with every tiny bit of hang time, banked in a layup, 108-106.
De Ocampo then moved beyond the arc while Gabe Norwood, regarded as the best perimeter defender in the league, tried to close out on him.
It didn’t matter. He had his coordinates set, 10 feet above, 18 inches in diameter. Swish. Talk N’ Text was now ahead, 111-108.
“I was thinking ‘there’s nothing happening here.’ I had to take it or allow a turnover,” De Ocampo said. “I had to take every opportunity.”
And just like a one-man sniper hell-bent on hitting where it hurt the most, De Ocampo again nailed another well-contested three to give Talk N’ Text 114-108 lead.
He had eight points in the second overtime period and finished with 34 points and seven rebounds.
Talk N’ Text were the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Champions.
READ: De Ocampo Texters triumph after 2 ots
De Ocampo was the Finals MVP.
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