Veteran stalwart Ranidel de Ocampo announced his retirement last April 13 after playing for 16 Seasons in the PBA.
The 6'6" Forward from Cavite, revealed his decision on the 2OT podcast and announced it on Twitter.
Maraming salamat Panginoon! 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/LUeVDMAWVG— Ranidel De Ocampo (@jutaca33) April 13, 2020
As a tribute to the former 2x Finals MVP, let us take a look back at his Illustrious career:
COLLEGE CAREER
Born Ranidel Rozal de Ocampo, his basketball career began at the Saint Francis of Assisi College System Doves, where he played with his brother, Yancy. They both led the varsity squad to several NCRAA titles. Although the taller Yancy left for the PBA, Ranidel still led the Doves into several statistical categories such as scoring and rebounding and was one of the best players of his time.
PBA
The fourth overall pick by the FedEx Express in the 2004 PBA Draft, RDO played alongside his brother Yancy averaging a decent 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing a little over 21 minutes of action per game.
It was not until the 2005–06 season where he improved to 13.3ppg in his sophomore year, registering 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
After 3 years with FedEx, he was dealt to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters for veteran Don Allado. There he blossomed and his all-around play helped them beat the Alaska Aces in that conference's finals series, 4-3, earning him his first PBA title.
Touted as one of the best "Stretch four" in the history of the PBA, de Ocampo led the Texters to the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup championship, winning a seven-game series against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
He was named as the Finals MVP. During the series, he averaged 24.3 points and 6.6 rebounds and as well as shooting at an impressive 40% from the three-point area over the course of seven games.
In September 11, 2017, de Ocampo was dealt to the Meralco Bolts.
GILAS
De Ocampo began to serve his country in 2003, and in 2008 where he was again included in the RP Training Pool, assembled by the PBA under Coach Yeng Guiao.
The most unforgettable stint was in the Gilas Pilipinas roster that placed second in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship held in Manila and earned a ticket to compete in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. His heroic plays in the Philippines' streak-busting win against Korea in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Former Gilas Pilipinas and TNT Katropa head coach Chot Reyes shared that the best way to pay tribute to RDO in his Instagram post.
“For me, Ranidel is a coach’s dream," said Reyes. "He’s a type of player that we call “highly-skilled, high-value but very low maintenance.”
Ranidel finished his career with an impressive resume:
- 6× PBA champion (2008–09 Philippine, 2010–11 Philippine, 2011 Commissioner's, 2011–12 Philippine, 2012–13 Philippine, 2015 Commissioner's)
- 2× PBA Finals MVP (2012–13 Philippine, 2015 Commissioner's)
- PBA Best Player of the Conference (2014 Governors')
- 9× PBA All-Star (2007–2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
- 3× PBA Mythical First Team (2012–2014)
- PBA Mythical Second Team (2015)
- PBA All-Rookie Team (2004–05)
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