Toroman taps De Ocampo for Smart Gilas five

MANILA—Ranidel De Ocampo has been tapped by Smart Gilas Pilipinas coach Rajko Toroman to reinforce the power forward position of the national team in the Fiba Asia Championship set Sept. 15 to 25 in Wuhan, China.

“We have been looking for a player like him for a long time,” said Toroman. “He’s an aggressive player at power forward and I believe he can help us inside.”

The 6-foot-6 Talk ‘N Text forward will add depth to the Smart Gilas rotation along with power forwards Japeth Aguilar and Kelly Williams.

“He’s a good rebounder and someone who can shoot the ball,” said Toroman. “We missed this kind of player in our past competitions and with him, we’ll have a chance to fill this weak spot.”

But De Ocampo won’t be able to train with the Nationals along with TNT teammates Jimmy Alapag and Williams since the Grand Slam-seeking Tropang Texters are expected to go far in the PBA Governors Cup which is expected to end late next month.

The TNT trio is also expected to miss the William Jones Cup in Taipei on Aug. 6-14 but will join the Nationals in the charity game against PBA stars Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Derek Fisher and probably NBA reigning MVP Derrick Rose on July 24 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Asi Taulava of Meralco and Air21’s Dondon Hontiveros are back with the PH five after their teams missed the semifinals of the season-ending conference of the pro league.

“Dondon will start training on Monday while Asi will start practicing right after his last game on Wednesday,” said Toroman.

Shooting guard Marcio Lassiter has also recovered from a strained back and should complete the 12-man roster to the Jones Cup along with skipper Chris Tiu, co-captain Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, JV Casio, Dylan Ababou, Jason Ballesteros, Chris Lutz and naturalized player Marcus Douthit.

Smart Gilas drew Jordan as its first assignment in the Jones Cup on Aug. 6 and will face United Arab Emirates the following day before taking a one-day rest.

The Filipinos will play six straight games after the break on Aug. 9 to 14 against South Korea, South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, host Chinese Taipei and finally reigning Asian champion Iran.

The team with the best record in the nine-squad tournament captures the crown won by the Iranians the past two editions.

June Navarro, Inquirer.net