Van Opstal relishes training with ‘inspiring’ San Miguel big men

Arnold Van Opstal chats with his former coach and now San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla.

Joining a powerhouse San Miguel team, Arnold Van Opstal is seeing firsthand how intense the style of play in the PBA is.

Not that he expected anything less.

“I knew coming in that people are going to be bigger, stronger,” he said.

Though Van Opstal already had numerous wars with foreign big men during his collegiate days, he said that those don’t compare to the duels he had in his short time in the Beermen practice against big men like three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and veteran big men Arwind Santos, Yancy de Ocampo, Gabby Espinas, and JayR Reyes.

“Nothing really compares to facing someone like June Mar, but I’ve expected it to be more physical. For guys to be bigger and stronger, so it’s not that surprising,” he said.

The Fil-German rookie also shared that training with Fajardo so far has been nothing short but great.

“He helps me a lot. He gives me tips. He’s really humble, really nice guy,” he said. “I’m just trying to
learn as much as I can from him. He tells me what to do or what I shouldn’t do. He tells me to just play my game and not think too much.”

Though he comes out of San Miguel practices feeling the pain of the grind, Van Opstal believes that only help him improve his game.

“It’s been good. I’m learning a lot and I’m definitely adjusting,” he said. “I’ve got great role models and it’s really great to see their experience and how good they are at reading the game. It’s inspiring.”