Sound bites from draftees

There were 41 hopefuls picked in the PBA draft at Robinsons Place Manila last Sunday and only six were left out of it. The untapped players were J. J. Manlangit of CEU, A. J. Coronel of Perpetual, Jerome Garcia of EAC, Ralph Salcedo of Arellano, Eman Calo of the University of the Visayas and Clark Derige of UE.

In interviews, here were some key words mentioned by the first round picks. Columbian’s C. J. Perez – hustle. NorthPort’s Robert Bolick – magpapakamatay ako. NLEX’ Paul Desiderio – flexible. Meralco’s Trevis Jackson – this is a blessing and I’m thankful. Rain Or Shine’s Javee Mocon – I’m a student of the game, I’ll have fun learning. NLEX’ Abu Tratter – I’ll contribute in any way. Rain Or Shine’s J-Jay Alejandro – I’ll try to fit in the system. Magnolia’s Mike Calisaan – mga idol ko sina Kuya Ian (Sangalang) at Kuya Ping (Marc Pingris). Columbian’s J. P. Calvo – mag-e-enjoy lang ako. Phoenix’ Jorey Napoles – hindi ako mapaniwala, kinabahan ako, ibibigay ko ang best ko.” Among the first round choices, only Blackwater’s Ray-Ray Parks was absent because of his commitments with San Miguel Alab in the ABL.

Lyceum, NU, UP and San Beda delivered two players each in the first round where no pick came from Ateneo or La Salle. Overall, Letran and Adamson showed the way in most players drafted with four each. Rain Or Shine was the class valedictorian with seven picks – Mocon and Alejandro in the first round, Paul Varilla, Robbie Manalang and Harold Ng in the second, Kent Lao in the third and Job Cariaga in the fourth. Next were NLEX and Phoenix with five each. The Road Warriors selected Desiderio, Tratter, Kris Porter, Kyles Lao and Dan Wong while the Fuel Masters chose Napoles, Ron Dennison, Jojo Trinidad, Ivan Villanueva and Kim Cinco.

Bolick was the only hopeful who showed up in a three-piece suit. Wearing bowties were Trinidad, Matt Salem of NU and C. J. Isit of Mapua. Three Fil-foreigners spoke for their teams during the draft and they all talked in Pilipino. First was Phoenix’ Jason Perkins who announced a pass in the fourth round then NorthPort’s Stanley Pringle called out John Ragasa in the fifth and NorthPort’s Mo Tautuaa said “ayaw na namin” in the sixth.

Two draftees extended family ties to the PBA. Magnolia pick Jeepy Faundo’s brother Bryan is in the Meralco roster while Alaska choice G-Boy Babilonia’s late father Gido saw action with seven teams in the PBA up to 2002. Babilonia, measured 6-5 flat by the PBA, was one of only five hopefuls standing over 6-4. The others were 6-5 1/8 Tratter, 6-4 1/2 Porter, 6-4 1/2 Faundo and 6-4 1/4 J. R. Ongteco.

San Miguel Beer, Ginebra and TNT had no picks in the first two rounds. The KaTropa wound up with two selections, Ongteco and Isit. San Miguel chose only Ryan Monteclaro of Adamson while Ginebra named Salem in the third round before passing.

The joke of the event was made by Phoenix coach Louie Alas who named team manager Paolo Bugia as the Fuel Masters pick in the first round, creating confusion at first then laughter later. Alas went on to pick Napoles. The boo-boo of the draft was made by Columbian assistant coach Art de la Cruz who called out C. J. Calvo when his nickname is J. P. The only C. J. available at that point was Isit and he wasn’t named until the fourth round.

Three Laos were picked in an unprecedented coincidence. Rain Or Shine chose Kent, NorthPort selected Edrian and NLEX named Kyles, all in the third round. The three Laos came from different schools – Kent from UST, Edrian from UV and Kyles from UP. 

In his opening remarks, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial thanked everyone involved in moving the league forward – franchise owners, governors, sponsors, SBP, GAB, ESPN5, PBA employees, media, players, coaches, team officials and staff and fans whom he called “mga bida ng liga natin.” He praised the Lord for giving life to the PBA and making it a source of livelihood to those involved in working with the league and a vehicle of enjoyment to millions of Filipinos all over the world.

Marcial addressed the hopefuls who weren’t picked and said they still have a chance to crack a lineup like other undrafted players before them. He advised the draftees to work harder than ever and “galingan ninyo” to live their dream of playing in the PBA. Marcial said he wouldn’t be surprised if teams come up with trades involving draftees in the next few days. Yesterday, NLEX and Blackwater were in talks to finalize a trade where two first round picks would go to the Elite for Poy Erram. Earlier, Blackwater dealt Paul Zamar to San Miguel Beer for second round picks in 2021 and 2022, opening a slot for Desiderio to join. Tratter would also jump to Blackwater if Erram leaves.