The Final Score: Once upon a time, DLSU’s Arnold Van Opstal wasn’t so awesome

“Kami ni Arnold, we didn’t get along.”

Wait, what was that again?

“Nung rookie siya, we didn’t get along eh,” Simon Atkins, who played one season alongside Arnold Van Opstal with the Green Archers, revealed.

That was a surprise. Well, fine, I wasn’t completely shocked but it was definitely an offbeat way to start a conversation. The idea was to discuss how Van Opstal’s contribution as a post-up-threat could help La Salle win the UAAP championship in gam three.

Although Van Opstal always struck me as a kind of rebel (not exactly pasaway, not really yung magiging sakit ng ulo ng coach, but just the kind of strong-willed teenager who believed in doing things a certain way), I didn’t expect that a discussion on his current impact in the UAAP Finals would begin with a breakdown of his past disobediences.

“I think it was all the hype of being a prized rookie,” Atkins, who now plays for Air21 in the PBA, explained. “I guess it’s normal kasi he was one of the best big men from high school. I think he also wasn’t getting along with some of his older teammates.”

Why wasn’t I completely shocked to hear this?

“Kahit program sa weights, hindi niya gagawin yun kasi he had his own thing,” Atkins added. “Sinasabihan ko siya dati to do this and do that. Ayaw niya talaga gawin. Tapos he’s going to say something about it pa.”

I saw Arnold when he was still playing for De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Juniors division. So many things about him suggested that he wasn’t your usual basketball prodigy. He had a surname fit for a UEFA star soccer player. His hairstyle was perpetually stylish. He was the tall man who wore short shorts. He seemed determined to choose sneaker colors no one else had. He dunked like only a Van Opstal dunked.

Arnold didn’t have the aura, didn’t show the moves of an ordinary baller.

The young man, even back in high school, was already a non-conformist.

“When he started practicing with us in college, I had to look out for him,” Atkins recalled. “Kasi same school kami galing (DLSZ). So my responsibility was to make sure he didn’t bring any kind of bad attitude from high school to college. Because sa seniors, the pressure is bigger and expectations are higher.”

The pressure on Van Opstal to fulfill a vision, even if that vision wasn’t entirely his, was real. Expectation that he would swiftly develop into a destructive force under the basket was just as tangible. When pressure and expectation begin to weigh down, I expect a non-conformist, especially a confident non-conformist who stands 6’7", to push back.

“He was really palaban all the time. Arnold never backed down. Not even to me even if I was the team captain,” Simon shared. “But now he’s using it well. He’s using that attitude, yung attitude na he never backs down, sa game. He uses it against [Karim] Abdul. He uses it against his big opponents now. Ngayon ko lang na-realize na ganoon pala talaga personality niya.”

He never backs down.

That’s an important trait to have if you’re setting the tone for La Salle’s big men against UST. My non-scientific assessment: if Arnold’s aggressive, La Salle’s other big men become aggressive as well. It’s as if Arnold’s responsible, whether this is by design or not, for opening the floodgates for the Archers’ frontline.

“Everyone has his own way of playing and Arnold, he really competes. Fighter talaga,” Simon said. “I remember I think it was [Paolo] Pe who was holding him and he told Pe, ‘Stop holding me!’ Fighter talaga. And I don’t blame him. With his size, dapat naman talaga.”

I like the whole Jeric Teng versus Jeron Teng angle. I like waiting for Aljon Mariano to create mismatches. I like how Almond Vosotros shoots three's like Ryan Buenafe – parang ninja – so unexpected – even for teammates. I like how Twitter explodes whenever Kevin Ferrer rolls out his now-famous tongue.

Yet I also like witnessing how a young man fulfills the promise of dominance. Believe me, I’m hurt when I see tall men who are unwilling to trade forearms and elbows inside the paint. Masakit para sa mga katulad ko yun. But when a big man uses his heaven-sent physical attributes to help his team win, what’s not to like?

I don’t know Arnold personally. To be honest, medyo nakakailang siya. Even Atkins would understand my hesitation. I don’t believe Arnold is rude or arrogant. I don’t think he is anyway.

But as Atkins says, Arnold has his own way. If Arnold’s own way works and I can witness it work from a healthy distance, then everything’s fine. Maybe when the season ends, I can call him up, meet him for coffee, and know him better. That can wait.

Van Opstal’s priority now is to prepare for game three, to continue what he started in Game 2, to sustain his aggressiveness against Abdul, to help La Salle win the title, to make Atkins forget about their disagreements in the past, to let people see a glimpse of the near future.

“I’m very happy for him now,” Atkins said. “When he gets the ball down at the post, I’m shouting, ‘Go Arnold!’ I’m shouting, ‘LA [Revilla] give the ball to Arnold!’ Other teams always had dominant big men like Jervy [Cruz], Rabeh [Al-Hussaini], [Greg] Slaughter. Finally, La Salle has one now. Now we have Arnold. I’m happy na it’s Arnold.” - AMD, GMA News