PBA: De Ocampo named Philippine Cup Finals MVP

(Updated 10:41pm) Ranidel De Ocampo himself was surprised, when he was declared the Finals MVP of the 2012-13 Philippine Cup, after Talk 'N Text's 105-82 blowout win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters gave TNT a four-game sweep, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. As PBA Media Bureau President Musong Castillo asked the crowd who they thought the Finals MVP should be, De Ocampo's teammates started to chant his name and point towards him. They were led by former Finals MVP Jimmy Alapag who was standing at the podium while pointing two fingers to De Ocampo. "Nagulat ako nung tinawag ako," he admitted. The big man also said he was touched by the vote of confidence from his teammates. "Siguro gusto lang talaga nila akong manalo pero di ko naman magagawa ito kung di rin dahil sa kanila." De Ocampo averaged 18 points along with eight rebounds and three assists to lead the Talk n' Text Tropang Texters to their third straight Philippine Cup championship. The versatile forward hit a total of 13 treys in the four Finals games, on a 41.9% shooting clip "Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng fans ng Talk n' Text," said De Ocampo, who top-scored with 19 points in Game 4 of the PBA Finals. But he also added that he would have been fine with just the championship, adding, "Yung championship lang naman talaga yung kailangan ko para maging masaya." Indeed, his Finals MVP plaque was already stowed away, but he could not seem to get enough of the huge Perpetual Trophy that now belongs to the Tropang Texters. [Related: Castro earns first Best Player of the Conference award] Even with a Finals MVP award in tow, De Ocampo still displayed the philosophy that has made the Tropang Texters a dominant force in the PBA. After getting the award, De Ocampo took pictures with some fans like everyone else. After he was done, he walked into their dugout to celebrate, not as Ranidel De Ocampo the Finals MVP, but as Ranidel De Ocampo the teammate; just one cog to the machine that is Talk 'N Text. - Carlo Pamintuan/RAF, GMA News