Arnold van Opstal: A strong UAAP debut

UAAP Season 74 saw the debut of several famous rookies, popular not only for their skills but also for their looks. The center post is dominated by half-Filipinos such as Filipino-German Arnold van Opstal. The 19-year-old court heartthrob of De La Salle Green Archers is 6’9” and weighs 230 pounds. As STAR columnist Quinito Henson said, “He’s muscular, athletic, and intelligent. Not too many players his size can do what he does on the court — dribbling behind his back and between the legs, shifting the ball from left to right without faltering, putting it on the floor to drive to the hole, shooting nearly flawlessly from the line and drop-stepping effortlessly to the basket.”

He had fast and straight answers to our quick-fire questions:

PHILIPPINE STAR: Was there a time in your life when you were fat or skinny?

ARNOLD VAN OPSTAL: I was skinny at one point, really skinny. I used to get teased a lot for being skinny. I used to get called lank tank ’cause I’m tall and lanky. So at 15, I got sick of people calling me skinny so I really hit the gym. By the time I was 18, I was so big already that I had to cut down again for the UAAP season. I used to get teased a lot. I used to get bullied. I didn’t like that very much. I wanted to change, that got me started in the gym. I turned into inspiration the negativity that they threw me.

What was your first sport? How did you get into it?

Football was my first sport. I lived in Germany so across the road, we would have a football field. I’d always play there with my friends, every opportunity I’d get. When I was 12, I moved to Sydney and my friends there played basketball. That’s when I started, lost track of football, and I just focused on basketball from then on. I grew up playing with my friends and that’s how I grew to love the game. As I grew up, my earliest memories would be 3-on-3 lunch games. Nobody would even eat lunch ’cause they were just so obsessed with getting to play. It’s basically my friends in Sydney who keep me going. I mean they didn’t get as far as I did in basketball, but they still love basketball tremendously and that inspires me a lot.

Any special diet?

Yeah, I don’t eat fast food. I only have brown rice in the house. I only have wheat pasta in the house. I only have brown bread in the house. So I really eat healthy. I try to eat healthy.  A lot of vegetables, no fried food, no chicken skin, all that.

Note: Arnold eats eight meals a day. For breakfast, he has eight egg whites and three whole eggs, oatmeal, and two pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter. Three hours later, 8 oz. chicken (cooked differently, tomato sauce, mushroom, white sauce, grilled chicken), half-cup brown rice, one bowl salad (leafy greens with one tablespoon olive oil).

After another three hours, 8 oz. meat (cooked differently), half-cup mashed potato, salad. In another three hours, 8 oz. chicken, half-cup brown rice, one bowl salad. In another three hours, 8 oz. meat, half-cup mashed potato, salad. After three hours, cottage cheese with toast. Another three hours later, supplementation protein shake with banana. He sleeps at 12 midnight, then wakes up four hours later to eat something, then goes back to sleep.

What are you personally training for in terms of basketball skills? How about in terms of physique?

Personally, right now, with the season ended what I noticed was I just need to work on my flexibility a lot. One thing I’m not that good at, my flexibility and I’ll keep working on my post moves, just keep getting better and better trying to work on my all- around game. Hopefully get a better jump shot for next year. Physique-wise I just wanna be strong. I don’t care how I look. I just wanna be strong for the season. I don’t wanna be pushed around. I’m gonna be aiming to be at my strongest next season, I can guarantee that.

Which basketball skill are you most proud of? Which of your body part do you believe is most developed?

My post moves because I’ve come from a far way. I used to be a slasher, coming from Sydney, no one wants to, no one really wants to go up and play big. I would be trying to play like Michael Jordan, who is my idol. I wouldn’t be trying to play like Shaquille O’Neal so the hardest transition was from height. Coming to height, accepting my role as a big man. Not being able to slash or dribble, I think I’ve come far with my post moves so I’m pretty proud of my post moves, but I guess they’ll still get better. Strength-wise, I’m pretty proud of my strength right now. I mean I didn’t feel challenged this year at all with other players strength-wise though it’s just my first year. I didn’t feel challenged, I’m just gonna keep getting stronger and try to overpower people next year.

Probably my biceps are the strongest. I have no idea. Well, I think my arms are the most developed, or my chest. It used to be my chest, yeah that was the most developed part, but then I don’t really need my chest for basketball so I cut down on that and then I focused on my back and deltoids.

In terms of the usual sports prescriptions of proper nutrition, exercise, hydration, and enough sleep, which is hardest for you to comply with? How do you cheat? How do you compensate?

Nutrition. Very, very, very hard. It’s actually the hardest for me. I’m an ectomorph so it’s very easy for me to just lose weight in a snap. Like if I’m not eating right, I lose weight. Actually, I’ve been trying to eat eight meals a day and it’s really, really hard to get that into your schedule especially when you go to Taft. All the food is really unhealthy so when you try to find a healthy place, there is actually no healthy place to eat at. Well, sometimes I cheat, sometimes I eat at Flaming Wings which is basically junk food or something. I don’t compensate I guess. I’m skinny anyway so I don’t gain the weight. It just makes me sluggish.

  In your opinion what do you think La Salle has to work on for next season?

A lot of things they need to work on. I think accepting roles, that’s the main thing we have to work on because we’re not mature enough as a team. We’re very close. I think the closest I’ve ever been to a team. We’re like brothers, but it’s just on the court we have to figure out how to finish games ’cause we start well, but we don’t finish. I actually don’t know what the problem is so we still have to find that problem and we have to fix it. It’s really hard especially coming into this season thinking that there’s no way we weren’t gonna make the final four, but it happened and we’re still wondering to this day why, with such a strong lineup, skill-wise, probably one of the most skilled in the UAAP. We gotta figure out how to utilize all our talents, I think that’s what we need.

You are a very disciplined person. Were you always disciplined as a child?

I guess. I mean when my dad passed away, I kinda matured by myself. I guess that’s where I learned everything from — to be disciplined, to make the most of what I have.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.