After Ranidel de Ocampo retired from basketball in 2020 – following 15 seasons in the PBA and several stints with Gilas Pilipinas – his son, Ranidel de Ocampo Jr., seemed destined to follow in his father’s 6-foot-6 footsteps.
RDO Jr. suited up for Ateneo de Manila University in five games during the inaugural UAAP junior high school basketball tournament. He was also included in the Batang Gilas pool for the SEABA U-16 tournament in July 2023.
Despite his efforts to carve out a basketball career, the 16-year-old second-generation athlete eventually took a leap of faith and shifted to volleyball, finding his passion on the Taraflex.
Like his initial attempt to follow his father’s basketball path, RDO Jr.’s switch to volleyball is deeply influenced by family. He discovered the joys of the sport through his older sisters, Stephanie and Madelaine.
“Para sa akin, yung parents ko kasi ang nag-influence sa akin mag-basketball. Tinry ko naman i-push yung sarili ko sa basketball pero eventually hindi ko na kinaya talaga. Yung ates ko kasi, volleyball players, yung dalawang ate ko. Kapag naglalaro, nae-enjoy ko siya,” the 6-foot-6 middle blocker shared.
“Sabi ng parents ko, lalo na si dad, na trabaho lang daw kasi the moment na tumigil ako, malaki yung pushback non. So focus lang, trabaho, and then mag-enjoy lang ako tapos makinig sa coaches,” he added.
(C) Julius Domondon/UAAP Season 86 Media Team
Though RDO Jr. was a seldom-used member of Ateneo’s junior basketball team last season, his volleyball potential caught the eye of Ateneo boys’ volleyball coach Babes Castillo during the Jesuit Athletic Meet (JAM) in Laguna last summer.
Turning heads at the annual JAM tournament was enough for Castillo to offer RDO Jr. a spot on the Blue Eagles’ boys’ volleyball team for Season 87.
“Kinausap ako ni Coach Babes. Nung pumunta kami sa Laguna, meron kasing Jesuit Athletic Meet, and then kinausap ako ni coach na nung nag-training ako sa volleyball, na-enjoy ko naman, kaya kung gusto ko raw i-try, welcome raw ako,” RDO Jr. recalled.
While slowly distancing himself from basketball, RDO Jr. remains confident that the lessons he learned on the court will benefit him in his full transition to volleyball with Ateneo’s junior squad.
Two months and nine games into the UAAP Season 87 boys’ volleyball tournament, RDO Jr. has started applying the skills he honed in basketball to the Taraflex.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Despite Ateneo’s struggles this season – where they currently sit in seventh place with a 1-8 record – RDO Jr. has emerged as a promising prospect.
He ranks seventh among the best blockers in the boys’ division, with 17 attacks, 12 blocks, and one ace.
“Yung composure kasi sa basketball talaga, kapag nawalan ka ng composure, parang hindi mo talaga maaayos yung laro. Nakuha ko rin yung tiwala sa teammates kasi sa basketball, kailangan mas mag-communicate sa players and sa teammates,” he said.
“Nakuha ko rin sa volleyball yung kailangan na palaging prepared. Kasi nung nagbasketball ako, hindi ako masyado nagtiwala sa sarili ko and hindi ko prinepare yung sarili ko sa kung ano makukuha ko. Ngayon, plano ko bumawi sa volleyball.”
