Olympic veteran says US not out of it

Three-time Olympic basketball veteran Ramoncito Campos said yesterday the US remains the team to beat for the gold in Athens despite the 19-point loss to Puerto Rico.

"The US can still come back," said the 78-year-old Campos who wore the national colors in 1948, 1952 and 1956.

"You need to win only twice to make it to the round-of-8 quarterfinals and the US has four more games to play in the eliminations. They’ll play better. They’re pros. I expect them to adjust, hone up on their outside shooting and figure out how to beat the zone."

Campos, however, said it won’t be easy for the Americans to hit paydirt.

"I’ve always been an addict of the zone defense," continued Campos. "The US isn’t used to playing the international game. They like to penetrate or post up then kick out. But the zone won’t allow that kind of game."

Campos said the rest of the world has slowly caught up with the US in basketball. "During our time, the US was unbeatable maybe because the opposition wasn’t as strong as it is today," he noted. "There are now foreign players in the NBA (National Basketball Association) when there were none before. The game has changed. The evolution of the zone defense has made it difficult for NBA players to adjust to the international game."

Campos said when he played at the London, Helsinki and Melbourne Olympics, the US easily dismantled the zone.

"The US was superior in those days," he said. "No team came close. But not anymore. In the Philippines, we did away with the zone when we followed the NBA style in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association). Now, the zone is allowed in the NBA and PBA. But to beat it, you need good outside shooters."

Campos said the Philippines should seize the opportunity of sending the best players to compete in the Asian qualifiers for the World Championships and the Olympics.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, at least two Asian countries will qualify for the 12-team basketball tournament. China is seeded as host. There is a possibility of qualifying three Asian teams if China is among the top finishers at the 2006 World Championships in Saitama.

"We can beat Korea and Japan but we must send our best players from the PBA," said Campos. "Forget politics in basketball. If we don’t send our best players, let’s not send a team at all. What for? We were second to last place at the last Jones Cup because we sent a mediocre team. That’s a shame."

Campos said walking in the Olympic opening parade will always be a cherished memory.

"I did it thrice and every time I walked on that field, my hair stood up," he recalled. "I saw the crowd cheering, people taking pictures. Thousands of people in the stadium. It was a great feeling to be with the best athletes in the world. My eyes were wide open. The atmosphere was unbelievable, beyond words. I hope more of our countrymen could experience the feeling, especially our basketball stars because they’re our heroes."Campos said his most memorable Olympic experience was playing on the basketball team that finished 7th in 1956 under coach Leo Prieto. The US won the gold with Bill Russell and K. C. Jones leading the attack.

"We ended the eliminations in a three-way tie with France and Chile," recounted Campos. "We beat France but lost to Chile when Piling Barretto went for a layup and missed, giving Chile a chance to send the game into overtime. If we just froze the ball instead of going for a shot, we would’ve wound up fourth at worst."

It was in Melbourne where Campos met Russell.

"The US team practiced before us and Russell would hang around the gym to watch," he said. "After two or three practices, he came up to me and asked if I was right or left-handed. I think he was confused because I shot with either hand. We became good friends and even corresponded after the Games."

Campos’ ability to shoot with the left or right was a skill he worked on during his La Salle high school days.

"My father saw an ambidextrous American player Les Ogara shoot with either hand and encouraged me to do the same thing," said Campos. "So I practiced with both hands. When not playing, I took soup with the left hand, prayed the rosary with my left hand, used my left in bowling and clapped with my left over the right."

In his heyday, Campos was a crowd favorite because of his switch-shooting. At the foul line, he shot with either the right or left, depending on which was less tired. Fans used to bet 10 centavos which hand he would use before taking a free throw.

Campos led La Salle high school to the 1939 National Open title. He also played on the Nippon Kempi Kabushiki Kaishi team that won the 1944 MICAA crown during the Japanese occupation. Campos starred for the unbeaten UST team that swept the 1948 UAAP tournament then played for La Salle where he graduated with a commerce degree, major in marketing in 1952. He went on to play for YCO. When Campos retired as a player in 1959, he had collected 24 championships.

Campos worked 15 years for Metro Drug, dabbled in movie-making with Luis Nepomuceno and was employed at Meralco until his retirement in 1989. He was the long-time Meralco basketball team manager that won several titles with the likes of Robert Jaworski, Big Boy Reynoso and Boy Marquez. Campos was FEU athletic director from 1990 to 1997 then became the assistant director for sports development at La Salle.