Navarro joins Gilas pool; draft combine on hold

MANILA, Philippines — The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) inserted Ateneo’s William Navarro into the special Gilas Pilipinas pool for the coming PBA Rookie Draft.

Navarro, who joined the recent Gilas training camp in Laguna, initially declined the SBP offer but had a change of heart and decided to come on board.

He will join Jordan Heading, Tzaddy Rangel and Jaydee Tungcab, who were previously announced as the SBP’s only picks in the Gilas round on March 14.

The 6-foot-6 forward’s last-minute addition to the Gilas pool got the green light from the PBA.

“They asked to add a fourth player and the (board of) governors agreed,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial as he reiterated the league’s support for SBP’s Gilas program.

With this, Navarro’s name was stricken off the regular draft in the talent-rich rookie class.

“We know that a lot of teams had their eyes on Navarro but the Board of Governors saw past that to consider the needs of Gilas,” SBP president Al Panlilio said.

“He will be the last addition to our pool to give the PBA teams enough time to map out their game-plan for the upcoming draft,” he added.

Terrafirma and NorthPort will pick first and second, respectively, from the Gilas pool. Instead of one pick at No. 3, NLEX will now get an extra crack at No. 4.

The four draftees will be on loan to Gilas’ full-time training pool for this year, like 2019 PBA picks Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt and Mike Nieto and Allyn Bulanadi.

Meanwhile, it seems that the PBA will not push through with the draft combine this year.

Marcial said the PBA may pull the plug on the staple pre-draft event for safety precautions and due to travel difficulties of the aspirants amid the pandemic.

“Wala pang final decision as of now pero baka hindi na ituloy,” Marcial told The STAR.

Initially, the PBA planned to hold the draft combine in batches and under strict protocols to give the teams a closer look at the applicants.