PBA holds draft of decade today

The keenly awaited 2003 PBA Rookie Draft is finally on stage today starting at 2 p.m. at Glorietta in Makati – a draft exercise which could become the draft of the decade and may well signal another changing of the guard in the league.

And why not?

It offers a deep pool of talented young players, no question they’re the best since a heavy cast of Fil-foreign players led by Asi Taulava, Eric Menk and Dan Seigle invaded the PBA draft in 1999.

This year’s draft pool is loaded with great talents on various positions that some teams were still trying to squeeze last-ditch deals to stock up on draft rights on the eve of the draft exercise.

There are prized guards in Mike Cortez, Jimmy Alapag, Rob Johnson and Egay Echavez, impressive wingmen in Sunday Salvacion, Ronald Tubid, Bruce Dacia, Brandon Lee Cablay and Cyrus Baguio, big talented forwards in Reynel Hugnatan, Billy Mamaril and Harvey Carey, dependable slotmen in Romel Adducul, Enrico Villanueva, Marlon Legaspi and John Ferriols and a great all-around talent in Eddie Laure.

Alaska Milk has long decided it will make Cortez the top pick while Barangay Ginebra has said it will pick Romel Adducul at No. 2.

Shell was earlier torn only between Villanueva andLaure until it heard great scouting reports on Fil-Am forward Cablay from the US yesterday. A certain team reportedly ordered Cablay to call in sick Friday to hide the player from the prying eyes of scouts of other teams during the pre-draft camp.

The Cablay mystery has seemed to be unlocked, though, that Shell was one of the teams aggressively exploring trade negotiations for another first-round pick at presstime.

Trades or no trades, expected to join Cortez and Adducul in the first round, though, are Villanueva, Laure, Cablay, Salvacion, Hugnatan, Legaspi, Carvey and Mamaril. Other first round prospects are Ronald Tubid, Jimmy Alapag and John Ferriols.

The draft exercise will be covered live simultaneously by NBN-4 and IBC-13.

The prospective top picks’ profiles follow:

Mike Cortez: Probably the next Johnny Abarrientos. His leadership and ball-handling skills are above average and he is pretty consistent on both ends of the floor. At 5-11, bigger guards will not present much of a problem. His footwork can keep up with the quicker playmakers. The 22-year-old Fil-Am, born in San Jose, California, averaged 12.45 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals in his stint with La Salle-ICTSI in the 2002 PBL Chairman’s Cup. He made it to the Mythical Second Team in that tourney.

Romel Adducul: The former MBA top attraction could be the best post player in the draft. He’s a consistent winner, having won championships with San Sebastian in the NCAA, the Manila Metro Stars and the Batangas Blades in the MBA and the national team in a number of SEABA and SEA Games wars. He’s the only Filipino player who has played – three times – for the ABC All-Star team in the ABC All-Star Game. He averages 14.9 points, 10 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.9 blocks for Welcoat Paints in the current PBL tourney. The Tuguegarao, Cagayan native stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 220 pounds.

Enrico Villanueva: He has had much hype surrounding him entering the draft because of the success Ateneo had in the last UAAP season. But there’s no question that the 6-foot-6 power-playing slotman has the potential to be a good player. Athletic and strong, Villanueva, 22, powered Ateneo to the 2002 PBL Chairman’s Cup championship and the coveted UAAP diadem. He was MVP in both tourneys. He was the scoring king (17.39 points), No. 3 in rebounds (8.7) and also No. 3 in blocks (1.7) in their PBL stint last year.

Eddie Laure: The best player to come out of Adamson since Kenneth Duremdes. He’s a known do-it-all player. At 6-foot-3, he has a vast array of skills. He can shoot, he is athletic, can jump, can finish strong to the hoop and can defend as he had shown in the last SEA Games in Malaysia in 2001. MVP in the final season of the MBA, Laure, 25, averages 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, one steal and two blocks for Welcoat in the current PBL campaign.

Sunday Salvacion: A scoring machine at St. Benilde, the 6-foot-3 Surigao del Sur son is probably the best shooter in the pool. Coaches say his ability to knock down treys will come in handy against the zone defense. Salvacion can also break down the defenses by putting the ball on the floor and finishing strongly to the hoop. He is very athletic and is known to finish off transition plays with slams. Coach Ron Jacobs must be so impressed, he invited this 24-year-old player to join the tryout for the RP team to the recent Busan Asiad.

Reynel Hugnatan: Purefoods coach Eric Altamirano said this 6-foot-4 fellow is another Eddie Laure. He can score with either hand, loves cutting to the basket and he has great upper body strength. He can also be a good weak-side rebounder, somebody who can fish for offensive recoveries and give his team second chance opportunities. The former Bacolod Slasher in the MBA, 24, averages 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and two assists for ICTSI in the current PBL tourney.

Marlon Legaspi: A very mobile big man who, despite being leaner than most big men, enjoys mixing it up underneath the basket. A patient defender and gutsy rebounder, Legaspi understands a team’s defensive philosophy pretty quick that he makes a good weak-side help ala Freddie Abuda. He was a tower of power for MLQU for quite sometime in college ball. In the PBL, the 25-year-old Pampango is the main man of Blu All-Purpose, averaging 14.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Harvey Carey: An Ali Peek clone, the 225-pound Sonoma State product, 23, had a little hand in Coca-Cola’s successful campaign in the recent All-Filipino by helping Rafi Reavies, Poch Juinio and Freddie Abuda prepare in their battles against Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Don Allado, EJ Feihl and Peek in the semis and finals series. He played the roles of these players against the Coca-Coca big men in scrimmages. And Juinio, Reavies and Abuda swore Carey has what it takes to make it big in the league.

Brandon Lee Cablay: Scouts who had seen him play say he is a taller and better Mark Caguioa. He can run, jump and shoot. Reports say he was offered to former San Miguel coach Ron Jacobs as early as three years ago. The 24-year-old player was born in Kealakekua Hawaii and played for Vanguard University.

Billy Mamaril: The guy is a legitimate 6-foor-7 player with solid defensive fundamentals. The 22-year-old reminds scouts of Nic Belasco minus the shooting prowess. In the PBL, though, Mamaril has shown he can score when he needs to. Son of retired PBA player Romulo or Mama, Billy averages 10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.1 assists for Montana Pawnshop in the PBL.