Caelan Tiongson's PBA dream finally within grasp

MANILA, Philippines -- Caelen Tiongson’s journey to the PBA has been a “long time coming,” the forward said, as the rookie draft rolls Sunday evening.

Tiongson, who retired from basketball in 2019, unretired two years later to play in Taiwan.

And now, three years later, the 32-year-old threw his hat into the draft, where he is expected to be one of the top picks.

“It feels good. It feels like a long time coming for sure, and I’m excited to see where I end up,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the PBA Draft Combine.

It really has been a long time coming for the skilled wing, who worked briefly in sales after retiring.

He said he worked a 9-to-5 job after retiring, just on the phones.

And now, he might have his name called in the first round of a top-heavy draft.

The forward is currently with the Strong Group Athletics – Pilipinas competing in the William Jones Cup.

He will skip the draft rites on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Tiongson said that his stint in Taiwan helped him grow in a lot of aspects of his game, which surely boosted his game.

“In Taiwan, I played for a team that… we weren’t very good. We’re a very young team and they asked a lot of me. Typically I’ve been a team player, pne who is really good at a system,” he said.

“In Taiwan, they asked me to score the ball a lot so it kinda just helped me develop that part of my game as well. Just added to the repertoire I guess I’d say, if a team needs me to get a bucket I could do that,” he added.

The PBA Draft is set to kick off on Sunday, 4 p.m., at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.