Armed with the top pick, Viva coach Koy Banal is expected to get a fine shooter in a bid to further strengthen his already formidable roster following the team’s pre-season massive buildup although there were reports that the team is already complete and has been practicing continuously for a month now.
More than 40 players, led by the prolific Neil Raneses of Cebu, joined the Aspirants Camp with commissioner Chino Trinidad expressing confidence the league will continue to attract the best amateur players in the land.
Before the rookie draft, five players from ICTSI-La Salle will be dispersed among the remaining seven teams after the Archers took a one-conference leave to prepare for the coming UAAP wars.
This early, the Archers are making no-nonsense buildup to regain their status as the country’s top collegiate team.
The five La Salle players — all of them are no longer eligible to play in the PBL — are Raymond Magsumbol, Manny Ramos, Dominic Uy, Mon Jose and Dino Aldeguer.
Just like the regular draft, Viva will pick first followed by Montana Pawnshop, Sunkist-UST, Blustar Detergent, Welcoat Paints, Fash Liquid Laundry Detergent, Toyota Otis-Knights and Lee Pipes-Ateneo.
The dispersal draft will start promptly at 1 p.m. and will be followed by the rookie draft.
Meanwhile, PBL chairman Dioceldo Sy yesterday said the PBL and Studio 23, a UHL channel of television giant ABS-CBN, have yet to come to terms with regard to the coverage of the games.
"Sure na ang Studio 23, hindi pa nga lang sigurado kung kailan ang pirmahan dahil me kaunting detalye pang inaayos," said Sy, president of DSS Productmakers, Inc, which owns Blustar Detergents.
Badly hit by the departure of their top players to the pro ranks, Fash and Welcoat are expected to figure prominently in the drafting although they have already acquired former PBA players to reinforce their respective rosters.
The season-opening conference is tentatively set on March 27 with league officials looking confident of another blockbuster finals, perhaps better than Fash-Welcoat title series in the Platinum Cup, which broke several league-attendance records.
Since they are newcomers, the Knights are entitled to have 9 direct hires of players currently in school.
Fash was also granted the option to direct hire as many as four players from its Cebu farm team after half of its erstwhile squad went with newcomer Lee Pipes but opted to take only one, 6-1 guard Reedfriar Juntilla.
The Knights, who will be handled by coach Louie Alas, is out to steer the Knights to back-to-back championships in the NCAA. They also added a Fil-foreign guest player in model Derek Ramsay.
Lee Pipes will field a team composed of current and former Blue Eagles along with some players from its pro league partner, the Talk N’ Text Phone Pals.
Raneses, a 6-3 forward from the University of Visayas, may likely emerge as the top pick due to his shooting touch and leaping ability. Several Fil-foreign players are also in the list with Welcoat eyeing 5-foot-5 Fil-Am guard Donald Dulay to fill the void left by Paul Artadi, who turned pro last month.