De Ocampo:“Nagulat yata sila sa footwork ko eh”

For many years, Philippine national men’s basketball team forward Ranidel De Ocampo had strived to emulate the footwork of one of the best big men in the game – NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.

In fact, the 6-foot-7 veteran patterned his game after that of the two-time NBA champion center for the Houston Rockets, who was known for his agility and nimble feet.

From the PBA all the way to FIBA play, De Ocampo had used similar techniques to elude defenders – up until Gilas Pilipinas’ game in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday, which left the Filipino having to make adjustments after he was twice called for a traveling violation.

“Nagulat yata sila sa footwork ko eh,” De Ocampo told InterAksyon.com. “Hindi ko naman ginagalaw yung pivot foot ko. Parang nagugulat lang sila.”

For fear of committing the same violation, De Ocampo had to change his game and that has clearly affected his approach when attacking the defense.

De Ocampo saw action for 15 minutes and hit a three-pointer, but couldn’t get his game going, especially after the call was whistled on him twice.

“Dati ko pang ginagawa yan, sa FIBA Asia, wala namang tawag. Hindi ko alam kung napag-tripan ako.”

source: interaksyon.com

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