Although a year older and at least two inches taller, B-Meg’s 6-8 Yancy de Ocampo has never outshone younger brother Ranidel, now with Talk ‘N’ Text, in their PBA careers. Yancy, 31, was the top overall pick in the 2002 draft while Ranidel, 30, was the No. 4 choice in 2004 behind Rich Alvarez, James Yap and Marc Pingris.
The De Ocampo brothers are on opposite camps in the raging PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals which the Llamados lead, 3-2. Curiously, the top four picks in the 2004 draft are all playing in the finals – Alvarez and Ranidel with the Tropa, Yap and Pingris with B-Meg. And among the top 10 in the 2002 draft, only Yancy, No. 2 pick Rafi Reavis, a B-Meg teammate, and No. 8 choice Ren-Ren Ritualo are still active. The other first-rounders in 2002 are off to pasture, namely No. 3 Omanzie Rodriguez, No. 4 Chris Calaguio, No. 5 Homer Se, No. 6 Migs Noble, No. 7 Eric Canlas, No. 9 Chester Tolomia and No. 10 Leo Avenido (with San Miguel Beer in the ABL).
Yancy and Ranidel were teammates in five PBA conferences – with Air 21 in 2005-06 (leading the Express to third place in the Fiesta Conference), with Talk ‘N’ Text in 2008-09 (celebrating the Texters’ Philippine Cup championship together) and with the Tropa in the 2009-10 Philippine Cup (eliminated by Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals). Since the 2009-10 Philippine Cup, they’ve parted ways.
Before this season began, Yancy averaged 7.1 points in 412 games while Ranidel, 11.7 in 324. Yancy has gone from FedEx to Talk ‘N’ Text to Air 21 back to Talk ‘N’ Text to Ginebra back to Talk ‘N’ Text back to Ginebra and finally to B-Meg in a journeyman career where his biggest asset is ceiling. Another asset is his three-point shooting although he hit only 31.1 percent in his first nine years. In contrast, Ranidel went from FedEx to Air 21 to Talk ‘N’ Text back to Air 21 and back to Talk ‘N’ Text. He’s on his third straight year with the Texters, showing a little more stability in his career. Ranidel’s three-point accuracy is slightly better at 34.1 percent.
This conference, the brothers’ numbers are like night and day. Yancy is averaging 3.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 9.6 minutes in 21 outings so far, shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the line. Ranidel is averaging 10.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 24.2 minutes in 19 games, hitting .379 from the field and 80.5 percent from the stripe.
In the finals, Ranidel is averaging 5.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 24.4 minutes compared to Yancy’s 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 9.6 minutes. In Game 5 last Wednesday, Yancy finally broke out of his younger brother’s shadow by playing a major role in B-Meg’s 82-66 win to take a 3-2 series edge. Yancy compiled eight points and seven rebounds in only 16 minutes before fouling out in the third period. He did a solid defensive job on Talk ‘N’ Text import Donnell Harvey who couldn’t find his rhythm all night long. Harvey finished with 13 points – his lowest in the finals – and 16 rebounds with five turnovers.
Ranidel had a sub-par performance, contributing only three points without a single rebound in 15 minutes. It was the first time in the finals that Yancy logged more minutes than Ranidel.
Yancy’s reemergence is all about defense. Shaking off a dubious reputation as a “softy,” he’s earning his minutes playing the role that coach Tim Cone has defined for him. Yancy doesn’t need to score on a team that has Denzel Bowles, James Yap, P. J. Simon and Joe De Vance. If Yancy can hold his own playing defense in the middle and grabbing rebounds, the others can take care of the offense. Whatever he contributes in points is a bonus. Ranidel’s absence in offense is glaring in the title series where he has shot 0-of-11 from three-point range. Pingris is sacrificing his offense to hold down Ranidel’s production.
Clearly, B-Meg’s gambit is to keep the scores low, play deliberate and stall Talk ‘N’ Text’s transition attack. In the Texters’ 12 wins this conference, they never scored less than 100 and averaged 107 points. In their seven losses, their average plunged to 80.2. In B-Meg’s case, they’ve won 14 games holding opponents to an average of only 81.7 and lost eight giving up an average of 96.9.
In a defense-oriented game, Yancy has the upper hand over Ranidel. In an offense-oriented game, Ranidel has the clear advantage over his “kuya.” Throughout the finals, tempo has been the key to winning or losing. If B-Meg is able to hold Talk ‘N’ Text down to 20 points or less a quarter, the probability is the Llamados will win. But if the Texters go 25 or over in a period, the chances are they’ll come out on top. That’s the story of the series. Dictating the pace isn’t easy – it requires taking care of possessions, creating extra shots, forcing turnovers and controlling both boards.
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It’s not surprising that in the three games that B-Meg has won in the finals, the Texters were limited to less than 40 percent shooting – 38.7 in Game 1, 34.9 in Game 3 and 36.9 in Game 5. Talk ‘N’ Text could average only 78.3 points in those three setbacks. In the Texters’ two wins, they averaged 102 points and shot 45.3 percent in Game 2 and 43.4 percent in Game 4.
Bowles and Yap erupted for a combined 58 points in Game 5, only eight less than Talk ‘N’ Text’s entire output. But it wasn’t their offense that spelled the difference. It was B-Meg’s unforgiving defense, forcing 16 Talk ‘N’ Text turnovers and limiting the Texters to only four fastbreak points. B-Meg dominated the boards, 49-40, and scored more second chance points, 19-8. That’s why Yancy shone brightly and Ranidel took the back seat.
How Game 6 will play out is anybody’s guess. In 12 of the last 21 best-of-seven series that were tied at 2-all, it came down to a Game 7. If the trend holds, the Texters are due for a win tonight. But this series has shown no respect for trends and odds. Talk ‘N’ Text will come out with guns blazing in Game 6 to set the tone early for a high-scoring contest. You can be sure B-Meg will be prepared to blunt the assault. The chances for a B-Meg win in Game 6 are higher than a B-Meg win if the Texters force a Game 7 – that’s a perfect recipe for an all-out war tonight.