De Ocampo, Lee to miss PBA q’finals

RAIN OR SHINE’S Paul Lee draws a foul from Talk ‘N Text import Ivan Johnson (partly hidden) as Ranidel de Ocampo also defends. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

RANIDEL de Ocampo will surely be out of the TNT roster when the Tropang Texters see action in the two-phase quarterfinal round of the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup starting Saturday, with his back injury so bad it could even keep him out of the Gilas Pilipinas lineup for next year.

“When this happened, the first thing that came to mind was Gilas,” De Ocampo said in Filipino after watching his Texters teammates finish the elimination round ranked sixth. “The injury is keeping me away from the game.”

De Ocampo is hands-down one of the premier power forwards in the PBA and a vital stalwart of the National Five since Gilas 2.0 who can be considered as a shoo-in for a slot in the squad that will play in a wildcard tournament for an Olympic berth in July next year.

“Right now, I’m feeling very weak,” he said.

De Ocampo injured his lower back while lifting weights before the opening of the PBA season, and his absence has also affected the performance of the Tropang Texters in the current Philippine Cup.

With the 6-foot-6 De Ocampo out, the Texters are trying to make do with rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario doing frontline chores together with former MVP Kelly Williams.

Rosario, the second overall pick after Tautuaa, is playing according to expectations and has emerged as the top big man of the Texters, turning in averages of 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest.

The former National University Bulldog in the UAAP is leading all rookies in their Statistical Points race and is actually No. 14 overall in the Best Player of the Conference derby.

Meanwhile, another superstar worthy of Gilas Pilipinas inclusion, Paul Lee of Rain or Shine, is scheduled to play for the first time this season only in the Final Four, should the Elasto Painters get there.

The 6-foot dynamo will continue to sit out the Painters’ coming games in the two-phase quarterfinals where they will clash with No. 10 Blackwater in the first round needing to beat the Elite just once to march on.

Should the Painters pull through, they will clash with the winner of the TNT-NLEX series, where the Texters hold a twice-to-beat edge. The second phase will be a best-of-three series.

And if the Painters still survive that, they will be in a collision course with San Miguel Beer and reigning two-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and a Lee that is near 100 percent shape for that series would certainly come in handy.

Lee, a former Rookie of the Year, is now having therapy and will start working out with the team in the coming days.