Arnold Van Opstal (original) (raw)

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Filipino-German basketball player

In this article, the surname is Van Opstal, not Opstal.

Arnold Van Opstal

Van Opstal in 2011
Personal information
Born (1991-12-15) December 15, 1991 (age 32)Germany
Nationality Filipino / German
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school De La Salle Zobel (Muntinlupa)
College De La Salle
PBA draft 2016: Special draft
Selected by the San Miguel Beermen
Playing career 2016–2018
Position Center
Career history
2016–2017 San Miguel Beermen
2017–2018 GlobalPort Batang Pier
Career highlights and awards
2× PBA champion (2016–17 Philippine, 2017 Commissioner's) PBA All-Star (2017)

Arnold Van Opstal is a Filipino-German former professional basketball player. He played for two teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also played for the Philippine national basketball team in international competitions. Van Opstal played for the De La Salle University in the college level.

Arnold Van Opstal was born in December 15, 1991 Germany.[1][2] He was born to Heinz, a German who was the former PAL general manager of Europe and Luzviminda Llantero who works at the Department of Foreign Affairs as head of the Machine Readable Passport Personalization Center of the Office of Consular Affairs. Van Opstal also has a brother named Christopher who is a lawyer by the age of 23 and a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney.[2]

Arnold Van Opstal studied at De La Salle Zobel from kindergarten to Grade 1 before relocating abroad with his family. His family resided in various places abroad such as in Bonn in Germany, The Hague in the Netherlands, Berlin, and then to Sydney, Australia due to his mother's foreign postings. In 2007, a year after Van Opstal's father died, his family moved backed to Manila after his mother received a Philippine-based assignment.[2]

He re-enrolled in De La Salle Zobel as a high school student and later enrolled at De La Salle University for his collegiate studies to pursue a degree in International Studies.[2][3]

Van Opstal was scouted by Jack Rodriguez who was a former La Salle varsity player who encouraged him to re-enroll at De La Salle Zobel. Van Opstal managed to earn a place for the school's junior varsity team for the 2008-09 season and was supposed to be named Rookie of the Year but was disqualified after he was ejected for retaliating during a game against the University of Santo Tomas. He spent a year-off from basketball to finish his studies at Zobel due to the non-honoring of his Australian credits.[2]

Van Opstal played for the De La Salle Green Archers while in college. He was a key player when the Green Archers won the UAAP title in 2013.[4] However, in July 2015, he opted out of his remaining playing year with the Green Archers due to a recurring Achilles' heel injury.

Van Opstal played at the PBA D-League while still playing with De La Salle. He played for the Hapee Fresh Fighters at the 2014–15 PBA D-League Aspirant's Cup but was later relegated to the reserve list by due to injuries.[5] In May 2015, he signed to Cebuana Lhuillier Gems and left Hapee.[6] He played in five games for Cebuana.[4]

Professional career

[edit]

Before entering the 2016 PBA Draft, Van Opstal went to various places such as England and Thailand to regain form. He also trained in the United States in March 2016.[7]

After his stint with Gilas Pilipinas, Van Opstal and other members of the Gilas Cadets program were placed in a special draft during the 2016 PBA Draft.[8] There he was selected by the San Miguel Beermen.[9] He joined a team that had a frontcourt rotation of June Mar Fajardo, Yancy De Ocampo, Gabby Espinas and Jay-R Reyes.[10] Rarely getting minutes, he scored his first points in a win over the Blackwater Elite and finished with six points and a rebound.[11] As a member of the Gilas cadets, he was got to play in the All-Star Games during the 2017 All-Star Week.[12] He played two conferences with the Beermen, winning championships in both the Philippine and the Commissioner's Cup.[13]

GlobalPort Batang Pier

[edit]

On July 10, 2017, Van Opstal was traded to the GlobalPort Batang Pier for Gilas cadet Von Pessumal.[10][13] Although Gilas cadets weren't allowed to be traded for at least two years, a clause was included that allowed for cadet-for-cadet trades.[14]

Before the start of the Governors' Cup, Van Opstal tore his meniscus, requiring surgery.[15] His contract expired in 2018.[16] Since then, he has stopped playing competitive basketball.[17]

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 San Miguel 10 3.0 .500 .000 .538 1.4 .0 .0 .1 1.5
GlobalPort
Career[18] 10 3.0 .500 .000 .538 1.4 .0 .0 .1 1.5
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 La Salle 14 16.0 .500 .000 .553 2.9 .9 .0 .6 6.4
2012–13 14 16.3 .510 .000 .633 5.2 .3 .1 .4 4.9
2013–14 14 22.8 .500 .000 .633 6.3 .7 .0 .9 9.3
2014–15 10 20.8 .556 .000 .541 5.6 1.5 .0 .5 8.0
Career[19] 52 18.8 .513 .000 .594 4.9 .8 .0 .6 7.1
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 La Salle 5 27.8 .556 .000 .409 7.8 1.6 .0 1.0 9.8
2014–15 3 22.3 .471 .000 .400 7.7 .7 .3 .7 7.3
Career[19] 8 25.8 .528 .000 405 7.8 1.3 .1 .9 8.9

International career

[edit]

After recovering from an Achilles' heel injury in August 2016, Van Opstal expressed his commitment to play for the Philippine national basketball team.[7] He was part of the squad that participated at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge.[17]

Van Opstal is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.[20] He is straight and his brother is gay.[21]

Van Opstal used to do modeling work. He and Ateneo basketball player Kiefer Ravena appeared together on the cover of an issue of Chalk Magazine. He also appeared solo on the cover of a Garage magazine in 2015.[22] In 2014, he and teammate Jeron Teng appeared in Bench's 'Naked Truth' fashion show.[23] In 2021, he opened an OnlyFans account.[24]

  1. ^ "Arnold VAN OPSTAL". FIBA Asia Challenge 2016. FIBA. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Henson, Joaquin (8 November 2010). "Make mine green, says AVO". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  3. ^ Ganglani, Naveen (2 July 2016). "Arnold Van Opstal: the jet-setting hoopster". Rappler. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b "La Salle's Arnold Van Opstal skips final year in UAAP, eyes PBA stint". InterAksyon.com. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  5. ^ Terrado, Reuben (13 May 2015). "Van Opstal eager to take on Hapee big men as he teams up with Tautuaa, Torres at Cebuana". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  6. ^ Terrado, Reuben (12 May 2015). "Cebuana Lhuillier Gems boost D-League title bid by signing Van Opstal from Hapee". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  7. ^ a b Ballesteros, Jan (21 August 2016). "After a year out, Arnold Van Opstal ready to re-commit to basketball and Gilas". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  8. ^ Li, Matthew (2016-10-19). "Belo, Jalalon headline Gilas Draft". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  9. ^ Beltran, Nelson (October 31, 2016). "PBA Rookie Draft 2016: Blackwater gets best of Gilas, aspirants". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  10. ^ a b "SMB exec wishes Van Opstal luck after trade to GlobalPort". Interaksyon. 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  11. ^ "'Patient' Van Opstal finally gets break in Beermen win over Elite". pba.ph. January 7, 2017. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  12. ^ Li, Matthew (2017-03-26). "Roster announced for Gilas vs. PBA All Star Games". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  13. ^ a b Li, Matthew (2017-07-10). "San Miguel ships Van Opstal to Globalport for Pessumal". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  14. ^ Ramos, Gerry (July 10, 2017). "PBA explains why trade between Gilas cadet Pessumal, Van Opstal was approved". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  15. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (August 31, 2017). "Arnold Van Opstal's career restart at GlobalPort stalled by season-ending knee injury". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  16. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (February 26, 2021). "What happened to the first batch of the special Gilas draftees?". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  17. ^ a b Li, Matthew (2021-03-13). "Where are the Gilas draftees now?". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  18. ^ "Arnold Van Opstal Player Profile, Northport Batang Pier - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  19. ^ a b "Arnold Van Opstal - Career Stats - HumbleBola". 2018-01-17. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  20. ^ Acar, Aedrianne (July 26, 2018). "READ: PBA cager Arnold Van Opstal openly supports the SOGIE bill". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  21. ^ Reyes, Kate (July 1, 2021). "Pride, not prejudice: Arnold Van Opstal sets things straight on being a gay ally". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  22. ^ Acar, Aedrianne. "TRIVIA: Meet PBA hottie Arnold Van Opstal, the new hero of the LGBTQ+ community". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  23. ^ "Teng, Van Opstal appearance in 'Naked Truth' show not an issue for La Salle coach Sauler". Spin.ph. September 21, 2014. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  24. ^ "In surprise Twitter announcement, Arnold Van Opstal hops on to OnlyFans". Spin.ph. June 11, 2021. Retrieved 2024-10-07.