[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.

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.

[4] However, in July 2015, he opted out of his remaining playing year with the Green Archers due to a recurring Achilles' heel injury.

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.

[9] He joined a team that had a frontcourt rotation of June Mar Fajardo, Yancy De Ocampo, Gabby Espinas and Jay-R Reyes.

[17] After recovering from an Achilles' heel injury in August 2016, Van Opstal expressed his commitment to play for the Philippine national basketball team.