RIVALS #7 | MARC PINGRIS VERSUS RANIDEL DE OCAMPO

I think most of the selections for the 50 Greatest PBA Players list are spot on.

I say this because the additional 15 names that expanded the list to 40 had some flaws. There’s a reason why fans continue to push for the inclusion of Danny Seigle, Nelson Asaytono, and Bong Hawkins while remaining skeptical about adding active players too soon.

This is where Joseph Yeo’s statement comes into play.

The Ninja may have a cocky persona, but he’s not wrong in what he said. Sure, he could have left Marc Pingris' name out of the discussion when bringing up Ranidel De Ocampo, but his point still stands. In the end, let the public decide whether Joseph Yeo’s “real talk” was on point or not.

Ranidel de Ocampo holds the edge in top individual awards, boasting a Best Player of the Conference title and three Mythical First Team selections. However, when it comes to the rest of the accolades, Marc Pingris takes the lead. While RDO came close to winning a Grand Slam, Pingris was an instrumental part of an actual Grand Slam team. He also has more championships to his name. Statistically, RDO may have the advantage in scoring, but Pingris dominates in defensive stats and hustle plays, which defined his career.

The real question is why Pingris made it into the 40 Greatest Players list when he and RDO could have been inducted together in the 50 or even 60 Greatest Players list. They belong to the same draft class, have similar awards and records, and were essentially rivals on the court. More importantly, they were both cornerstone figures in the 2013-14 Gilas Pilipinas run. You could argue that if Pingris made the list, RDO should have been there as well—and vice versa.

That said, the controversy surrounding the 40 Greatest Players list wasn’t necessarily Pingris' fault. The real issue was the exclusion of players like Nelson Asaytono, Danny Seigle, Bong Hawkins, Arnie Tuadles, and Abe King in favor of names like Pingris, Chito Loyzaga, Kerby Raymundo, Marlou Aquino, and even Jayson Castro. The Blur, Ping, and RDO could have been enshrined together with June Mar Fajardo in the 50 Greatest Players list, given their contributions to Gilas Pilipinas. This is something the next selection committee should consider when picking the next ten players for the 60 Greatest Players list. RDO, LA Tenorio, and perhaps Japeth Aguilar deserve a spot.

If there’s one positive takeaway from this debate, it’s that the clamor for RDO’s inclusion has turned into an early campaign for his rightful place in PBA history.

As for Joseph Yeo’s statement, while his comments were directed at Pingris, the fact remains—Pingris is already in the Greatest Players list.

The controversy wasn’t about whether Pingris deserved recognition, but rather, about the timing of his selection while he was still an active player.