PBL, Liga stage rookie draft today

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas will hold a joint Rookie Draft today at the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) office at Philsports, Pasig City.

Butch Antonio of Liga Pilipinas said everything has been put in place although the draft order of the teams will only be determined today. The drafting starts at 10 a.m.

Antonio also said they’re trying to confirm the participation of several teams from Mindanao.

Leading the draft roster are 6-foot-8 Darryl Tucker, Sean Anthony, Jay Kevin Gray, Mark Andrew Bull, and Robert Simpson.

The PBL and Liga held a rookie camp last Thursday at the Meralco gym in Pasig which drew the participation of players from Laguna, Cebu and Pampanga from Liga and Pharex, Cobra and Agri Nurture, Inc. from the PBL.

Magnolia of San Miguel Corp. is the other team from the PBL likely to join the tournament.

“This is the first joint project of the PBL and Liga and we’re confident this would be the start of something good for Philippine basketball, especially to its major stakeholders,” said PBL executive director Butch Maniego.

Meanwhile, Excelroof, which ruled the PBL tournament last March, begged off as most of its key players will be playing in the NCAA starting next month.