Yancy top pick in PBA draft

What had been dubbed earlier as the Romel Adducul Draft formally becomes the Yancy de Ocampo Draft today with Airfreight 2100-FedEx to pick the 6-foot-8 behemoth out of St. Francis of Assisi No. 1 overall in the 2002 PBA Draft at the Glorietta in Makati.

"He’s definitely a talent whom we expect to make an impact on the team in the coming years," said FedEx president Lito Alvarez.

"With Yancy, you have a player who can practically switch from No. 3 (small forward) to No. 5 (center) spots with relative ease. His dribbling ability is amazing. Here is a guy who can be a threat from inside and out, and so we’re excited to have him," added Alvarez.

Coca Cola Bottlers, formerly Pop Cola, owns the second pick, and coach Chot Reyes said they will settle for 6-foot-8 Fil-Am forward Rafi Reavies if FedEx makes De Ocampo the top pick.

"Reavies is a big man who can play small. He’s a slasher and he’ll likely provide us versatility," said Reyes.

The big question is who Sta. Lucia will make No. 3 pick since coach Norman Black and his staff have yet to sit down together and go over the names who entered the draft pool. Black has just returned from the United States while consultant Alfrancis Chua, assistant coaches Adonis Tierra and Franz Pumaren and the players were to fly in late last night from a trip to Paris as part of their bonus for winning the 2001 Governors Cup.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Chua said they will look for a small forward in the draft. Among the talents Sta. Lucia may consider are Chris Calaguio, Renren Ritualo, Chester Tolomia and Leonido Avenido.

Shell, at No. 4, may well choose 6-foot-6 center-forward Omanzie Rodriguez.

Red Bull will pick next, then Alaska, Shell, Barangay Ginebra and Coca Cola to round out the first round. Their picks will depend on who are left in the draft pool.

In the second round, the order of the draft is Coca Cola, Talk N Text, Sta. Lucia, Shell, Red Bull, Alaska, Shell, Coca Cola, Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel. But there’s a possibility that trades of draft picks will be made on the floor during the program starting at 2 p.m. Viva Vintage will air the draft in full starting at 6:30 over IBC 13.

This year’s batch of hopefuls comprises the largest ever PBA Draft class since drafting was introduced in the league in 1985. However, practically all the coaches agreed the quality of the draft suffered when high-profile players Adducul, Chris Clay, Jeffrey Flowers and Mike Cortez failed to make the pool because of technicalities.

Other MBA and PBL players available for drafting are John Alwyn Flores, Rensy Bajar, Chris Cardona de Jesus, Sonny Manucat, Bernard de Guia, Christian Nicdao, Ercito Victolero, Junel Mendiola, Wilfred Mejia, Arnel Santos Manalac, Jerome Barbosa, Danilo Capobres, Edwin Bacani, Gilbert Malabanan, Jason Misolas, Paulo Malonzo, Francis Sanz, Homer Se, Francis Aquino, Eugene Tan, Rainer Sison, Jojo Manalo, Alvin Castro, Edrick Ferrer, Brandon Sison, Aris Dimaunahan, Gilbert Lao, Jacques Gottenbos, Celino Cruz, Frederick Canlas, Miguel Noble, Dexter Racho and Richard Melencio.

Before the PBA Draft telecast, Viva Vintage will air highlights of the classic 1996 PBA Governors Cup Finals between grandslam-seeking Alaska Milk and the Robert Jaworski-led Ginebra San Miguel on the "PBA’s Greatest Games" show at 4:30 p.m.