Texters’ twin towers step up in De Ocampo’s absence
With Ranidel de Ocampo out for four to six weeks due to a herniated disc, Talk N’ Text coach Jong Uichico is expected to give more playing time to his towering top rookies.
And in De Ocampo’s first game out, Mo Tautuaa and Troy Rosario delivered in the Texters’ 101-97 victory over Mahindra to at recover from their poor debut against Alaska.
“It gives them some playing time without Ranidel,” Uichico said. “We hope they’ll be mature in terms of situations in the game. That’s what the rookies still lack, the decision making and maturity, but they’ll probably get that as long as they’re playing.”
Tautuaa finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the game while Rosario also got 12 markers alongside five boards.
The Fil-Tongan top pick, it boiled down to their preparation for this game.
“It’s just more preparation. We watched a lot of films and told me the things I didn’t do right. I tried fixing those things this game, still not where I want to be, but it’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
Tautuaa, who was happy to deliver the news of de Ocampo’s continued recovery, is slowly—but surely—trying into Jong Uichico’s system.
“They told me I have to step up a little bit more, but like I said, it’s a work in progress. I can’t get to the top if I won’t take every stair.
Slowly, little by little, we’ll figure things out,” he said.
Rosario is more of the same, saying, “Challenge sa amin yun, pero hindi lang naman kami ang kailangan mag-step up. Kailangan the whole team kasi hindi basta basta yung nawala na minutes ni Kuya. Mabigat yung kino-contribute niya so kailangan talaga buong team mag-step up.”
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