Former King Eagle looms PBA top draftee

MANILA, Philippines - Two-time UAAP MVP awardee Rabeh Al-Hussaini, the potential top pick, has made himself available for the 2010 PBA Amateur Draft slated Aug. 29 at the Market! Market! in Taguig.

Al-Hussaini, the main cog in Ateneo’s back-to-back UAAP title conquests in 2008-2009, applied for the draft yesterday, joining Ateneo teammate Noy Baclao and fellow Smart Gilas players RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra.

The 6-foot-7 center is likely to be the next PBA draft top pick after former Ateneo teammate Japeth Aguilar.

Al-Hussaini and Aguilar are also teammates with the Smart Gilas RP training pool but the former has been given the go-signal to join the pro loop.

Talk n Text, whose owner Manny V. Pangilinan is also the chief backer of Ateneo, is reportedly eyeing to acquire the services of Al-Hussaini.

TnT and B-MEG Derby Ace are the two teams with a chance to get the rights on the first pick through lottery. They got it on previous trade deals with Barako Energy Coffee and Air21, respectively.

With three weeks before the draft exercise, around 40 applicants have submitted their papers at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.

A handful are Fil-foreign players, including one who was born in Tripoli, Libya, another in Frankfurt, Germany and a pair from Canada.

Melchor Caysil Gile listed Libya as his place of birth, but suited up for University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP and had stints in both the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and the Asean Basketball League (ABL).