Villegas and RDO worked together in PBA 3x3.
Positionless basketball is real. It’s an undeniable part of the game’s evolution. You can win games playing a small lineup and you can also succeed with your bigs doing their thing from the outside. If you don’t agree, go and have a debate with acclaimed hoops tactician and former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin.
On One PH’s Power & Play, the concept of positionless basketball was brought to the forefront once again when Luis Villegas, the third overall pick in this year’s PBA Draft, was asked to define the exact position he plays.
“I would like to think of myself as a hybrid, a big guard,” the former UE Red Warriors standout said.
To further elaborate his point, Villegas name dropped a PBA great.
“The closest comparison that I can put myself is one of my former coaches at TNT. That would be RDO [Ranidel De Ocampo],” the 25-year-old cager claimed.
Villegas is referencing his stint in PBA 3x3 under the TNT Triple Giga, where De Ocampo serves as an assistant coach. Occasionally, RDO joins team practice, which perhaps gave the prized rookie of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters an idea of the legend’s vaunted versatility and toughness back in the day.
“Just how he plays, his style, we always joke around, give each other nudges here and there, but I’m definitely a combo of a big and a guard,” said UAAP Season 85 Mythical Five member.
Rain or Shine won’t see Villegas in action until next year as the 6-foot-7 Filipino-American is still nursing an ACL injury. But if he does return and play like RDO, then he’s definitely worth the wait.
(GM)