MANILA, 16 August 2007 — With four days to go before the 2007 PBA Rookie Draft, there still is no clear-cut choice on who the No. 1 overall pick will be.
As a matter of fact, the teams that own the first three selections in the proceedings still don’t know who to pick, proof how deep this pool could potentially be.
“We’re still weighing our options, trying to find out on what type of player our team really needs,” Welcoat coach Leo Austria told Arab News over the phone yesterday after practice. “As of now, we’re leaning toward tapping a big guy.
“And there are a lot of quality big guys in the pool.” Austria said that Samigue Eman, a 6-foot-9 find from Mindanao , looms as his likely choice. But the former Rookie of the Year, who failed to steer Welcoat past the eliminations in his first two tournaments at the helm, is having second thoughts. Joe Devance, a 6-foot-7 Fil-American who can be a dominating force inside, has been cleared of his citizenship requirements, and Austria is giving this former Toyota mainstay in the PBL a long second look.
“It’s because he (Devance) can score a lot,” Austria said. “He is a two-dimensional player, unlike Eman who is more of a stopper and an intimidator inside. We could use both players and it’s bad that we only have one choice (in the first round).” Another player that could land the distinction of being the top Draft pick is former Ateneo ace JC Intal, the high-flying Harbor Center forward who could be, potentially, the highest-scoring player in the pool.
But Austria has some reservations of tapping another scorer in favor of a big man, which he said the Dragons badly need.
Austria said that the Dragons remain to be Jay-R Reyes’ team, and tapping a big man would lessen the burden of rebounding on the 6-foot-6 Reyes, who ended up as one of the top shotblockers in his first season in the PBA.
“If we pick Eman or Devance, Jay-R will have more opportunities to score, which is his natural talent,” Austria explained. “If we tap Intal, the burden of rebounding will again fall on Reyes and we will sacrifice his offensive talent by doing that.” Interim San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen also has those three players in mind, and another who could be the surprise of the proceedings set this Sunday at the Market! Market! in Taguig.
San Miguel owns the No. 2 pick, acquired from Coca-Cola in the Dale Singson trade two years ago. And the Beermen might just use it to pick a small man, what with the abundance of talented big men in their roster.
Ryan Reyes, a 5-foot-10 Fil-American is being considered by the Beermen coaching staff. Right now, Olsen Racela remains to be the top point guard of San Miguel, but not for very long. At 37, Racela has slowly been relieved of his duties in lieu of LA Tenorio, who would need a backup in the next couple of years or so, and Tanquingcen sees Reyes to fit the bill more than anyone else in the pool.
“But as of now, we still don’t have a choice,” Tanquingcen said in a separate phone interview. “What we are faced with right now is whether to pick the best talent available in the pool or choose the player we really need.
“We would want to be able to make a choice that we will not regret.” Sta. Lucia has the No. 3 pick, and coach Boyet Fernandez, like the two coaches who will choose before him, still doesn’t have a player in mind.
Ken Bono, the former UAAP MVP, also looms as a top four choice. The others who are expected to be drafted early are burly JR Quinahan, Reed Juntilla, Ryan Arana and former Santo Tomas gunslinger and UAAP Finals MVP Jojo Duncil.
