By Les Tan
Eric Sandrin in the position he usually is when not taken out by dirty plays – upright. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
You had to be there to see it.
With 13 seconds to go on the clock and victory wrapped up, Singapore Slinger Eric Sandrin gets a pass and is airborne for a dunk. Filipino Raidel de Ocampo of Air21 was in the way but instead of just stopping, he WALKED underneath Sandrin to ensure that the Slinger would lose his balance.
Sandrin’s teammate Darren Ng recounted in his blog:
“Eric came down horizontally and landed heavily on his back. Everyone who knows basketball knows that this was a pretty dirty play. Eric could have been a lot seriously injured.”
Sandrin, apart from a stiff neck and back, is walking about and is taking medication to help with the inflammation.
In the first game between the two sides, it was obvious that Sandrin had figured out how to wind up the Air21 players with on-court comments. While I couldn’t hear what he was actually saying, it obviously wasn’t “Would you like to have a drink with me tonight?” By the fourth quarter, he had said and done enough that Homer Se kicked him in the back and head and got himself ejected from the game.
That set the stage for the second game.
The Slingers took three quarters before they finally tied it up and with victory assured, Sandrin’s victory dunk was perhaps too much for de Ocampo to take and he took his cheap shot. As Sandrin lay flat on his back, de Ocampo just turned and looked at him and offered no help or apologies. He had done what he wanted to do. He had got his cheap shot in.
What a professional.
See how de Ocampo took out Sandrin with his cheap shot at the 4:55 mark of this video by Ian Chew:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYljrSXZY14
well eric dunking when the outcome has been settled is considered disrespectful in phil. basketball there is no need to rub salt on a wound. second the filipino is still playing and just won a pba championship in 2015. he is also a fiba asia championship silver medalist and also appeared in the fiba world cup in 2014. he can dunk just click on the link. btw, welcome to philippine basketball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5AHBjpD81Y
go ranidel!!! he kicked sandrin’s ass in 2013
I hope that My good friend Eric Sandrin Kicks that other teams ass and show them that they can’t push my friend around and get away with it. Eric Sandrin is a good basketball player is like a brother to me, we grew up together since we were little.
Love Ya Eric
Your Friend, Leah and Baby Aaron
i just saw the video. for such an unprofessional act, i hope this filipino will have his career cut short. or ended with a similar incident. then again, i dont think he has the capabilities to produce such a dunk.
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