MANILA, 10 January 2003 — Homegrown talents, thanks to the absence of big name, blue-chip Fil-foreign players, are expected to grab more slots when the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Annual Rookie Draft is held on Jan. 12 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.
The 29th PBA season’s rookie draft would be welcoming “recycled professionals” instead as marquee players from the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) crowd a number of amateur standouts in seeking berths in the 10 teams of the professional league.
After Alaska, which gained the first pick overall on a past trade deal with FedEx, next on the draft order are Barangay Ginebra, Shell, Purefoods, Sta. Lucia Realty, Talk ‘N’ Text, Red Bull, San Miguel, Coca-Cola and Alaska Milk.
Rommel Adducul, the most sought-after big man from the MBA, is leading the roster together with John Ferriols and Eddie Laure, all former Most Valuable Player (MVP) winners before the country’s second professional league folded up late this year due to budgetary woes.
Adducul, a 6-foot-6 center-forward out of San Sebastian College, is highly touted to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, provided Alaska does not pick Ferriols or Laure, or even La Salle guard Mike Cortez.
For Adducul, there’s no better way to enter the pro league than through the Gin Kings.
Aside from the immense popularity and mileage he may get at Ginebra, Adducul is also excited about the prospect of playing alongside the front-line duo of Eric Menk and Jun Limpot.
Interestingly, too, should the Gins choose Adducul, the prized rookie would be reunited with former San Sebastian partner Banjo Calpito.
The two helped lead the Stags to four of their record five straight NCAA championships in the 90s before parting ways.
Calpito joined Sta. Lucia Realty in 1998 and Adducul tried his luck in the now-defunct MBA the same year.
Adducul, who played for two champion teams in the defunct MBA, has been aching to join the PBA the last two years. His draft application was shelved last year as he failed to get his release papers from the Batangas Blades.
The Aces have earlier signified their intention to make Cortez the top pick overall, while Ginebra is bent on picking Adducul and Shell is eyeing Enrico Villanueva, the 2002 UAAP MVP.
Cortez is a 5-foot-10 cager out of La Salle who is one of the brightest prospects at point guard since Johhny Abarrientos.
Surely, Cortez can fill up the Aces’ need for a legitimate playmaker.
Other ace players from the collegiate rank are Sunday Salvacion, St. Benilde hotshot, Cyrus Baguio, University of Sto. Tomas slam-dunk artist, and Marlon Legazpi, long-time Manuel Luis Quezon University standout.
The other big names from the bunch of hopefuls who beat the deadline last week were Ralph Emerson Rivera, Jimmy Alapag, Ronald Tubid, Bruce Dacia, Jenkins Mesina, Billy Mamaril, Francis Hugnatan, Clarence Cole and Rysal Castro. A total of 67 players, including 22 Fil-foreign cagers, have applied for the draft.
Shell coach Perry Ronquillo is facing a dilemma as to who to choose in the draft. The Turbo Chargers actually need a center as big man Benjie Paras has been on the injured list for almost two years now.
But Ronquillo has a preference for Laure whom he describes as “the best player in the draft, pound for pound.”
So the choice is a crucial one because it would determine the kind of team the Turbo Chargers would banner for the coming season. Ronquillo’s problem is this: should he pick a small, dynamic team or a big, deliberate one?
The Turbo Chargers can take in the 6-foot-5 slotman Villanueva to fill their need for a legitimate center or the smaller Laure, a 6-foot-3 swingman who can do it all.
“We still can’t make up our minds between picking out of need or taking in a man we consider to be the best player in the amateur ranks today,” said Ronquillo.
“Laure has it: he could play defense, he could shoot from the outside, can post up, block shots. In short, he’s a very polished player already. Laure has enough of the overall ability to make an immediate impact. Off the bat, he would give other teams a big problem,” said Ronquillo. “If we pick Laure, we don’t solve our problem, which is to get a center. If we get Villanueva, can he hold his own against the likes of (Talk ‘N’Text’s Asi) Taulava, (San Miguel Beer’s Danny) Ildefonso and (Ginebra’s Eric) Menk?”
The Hotdogs coach, Eric Altamirano, is expected to make do with a big swingman who could also play as a post-up player.
“We could opt for (Eddie) Laure, (Reynel) Hugnatan, (John) Ferriols, Sunday Salvacion or Billy Mamaril,” Altamirano said.
What the Hotdogs really need is someone who can play as a point guard. And that is why if Shell gets Laure, then the Hotdogs can also consider picking even the 5-foot-8 Fil-American Jimmy Alapag, a candidate to the Philippine team that finished fourth in the Busan Asian Games.
Alapag failed to make it to the RP team because he spent so much time securing his papers from the Department of Justice. When he finally did, he managed to play only two games with the candidates pool and got injured.
Most of the coaches say they will still do some research first before deciding whom to pick on draft day. Coaches will have a glimpse of the draftees as the PBA holds a rookie camp on Jan. 10 in Megamall.
The influx of local talents ensure their place in the pro league, which is still hounded by the specter of having admitted supposedly fake Fil-foreign players as an ongoing Senate investigation wants to prove.
Fil-foreign players invaded the PBA just before the turn of the new century, starting with the entry of Andrew John Seigle in 1998.
The following year, Paul Asi Taulava, the blonde-haired Fil-Tongan joined the league as well, along with Tanduay Gold Rhum’s Earl “Sonny” Alvarado and strongman Eric Menk.
Danny Seigle, brother of Andy, who now plays for Purefoods, also joined the Fil-Am “invasion,” along with Noy Castillo, and a host of others last year and this year.
