Troy Rosario has been dubbed as Ranidel De Ocampo’s heir apparent.
Rosario became the understudy of the versatile veteran when he joined De Ocampo at TNT after being drafted second overall in the 2015 PBA Draft.
The two were also teammates for Gilas 3.0 last Fiba Olympic Qualifying last year.
De Ocampo shortly retired from international play after Gilas failed bid and was left out of the roster in for the latest Gilas Pilipinas pool under returning coach Chot Reyes.
That leaves Rosario, who was the last added to the pool, with an unavoidable void to fill, something he sees as somewhat of an insurmountable task.
“It’s a huge responsibility and we all know what Kuya Del has done for Gilas. It’s a tough act to follow,” said Rosario Wednesday at Cuneta Astrodome.
Rosario first became part of the national program in 2015 as a member of the gold medal teams that competed in the Southeast Asian tournament before joining the senior Gilas for the Fiba OQT.
He had to juggle his responsibilities as a Gilas cadet back and being a practice player for the seniors.
Rosario added he was elated when he found out he was going to be part of the new Gilas and it came in the middle of a meeting in preparation for another milestone in his life–his wedding.
“Of course I was happy, and me and my wife were in the middle of a meeting with our wedding coordinator when we read the news,” said Rosario.