MANILA: The procedure itself seemed weird enough, but one thing was clear after Sunday afternoon’s PBA Draft: Blackwater just made itself better.
Getting Mac Belo No. 1 overall from the Gilas Cadet pool and then later on tabbing Raphael Banal first from the regular field of aspirants, the Elite bolstered their stock significantly and are looking at brighter days ahead when the 42nd PBA Season gets off the ground on Nov. 20.
Belo, the former Far Eastern gunslinger in the UAAP, was the first player selected from the Cadet pool as teams – all 12 of them – got a selection from the star-studded list of players which the Gilas Pilipinas program can tap for international meets in the next two years.
Kevin Ferrer, the fearless scorer out of Santo Tomas, went to Barangay Ginebra, which can now develop a truly dependable wingman with former MVP Mark Caguioa in the twilight of his career and Chris Ellis failing to really blossom according to his potential.
Arnold Van Opstal was snagged by San Miguel Beer; Jio Jalalon went to Star, Roger Pogoy got picked by TNT KaTropa, Rain or Shine got Mike Tollomia, Fil-Am Matthew Wright will be playing for Phoenix Petroleum, Ed Daquioag will be suiting up for Meralco, Mahindra got Russell Escoto, GlobalPort too Von Pessumal and Carl Cruz went to Alaska.
Those players all belong to the Gilas Cadet pool and will be tied with the National Team program – in an agreement with between the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the PBA – for the next two years, or until after the tedious Fiba Qualifying process for the 2019 World Cup set in China.
Trades among Cadet picks will not be allowed for that duration, though each team appeared to be satisfied with whom they selected.
The picks were announced in alphabetical order, as the natural order of the Draft wasn’t followed with the Gilas players. A marathon five-hour meeting was held on Thursday were the teams made their selections.
And that made the pick of Banal somewhat anti-climactic, as the television coverage even flashed him to be the No. 1 pick in the second round.
Banal, a 6-foot-2 point guard who is one of the sons of former Great Taste guard Joel Banal, was a no-brainer for the Elite, having come from the United States where he played his collegiate years.
The 24-year-old Banal is the first Filipino to successfully make a US collegiate team straight out of high school in the Philippines, opting to forego what many saw as a promising college career here after leading Ateneo to the UAAP high school title together with Keifer Ravena.
“Playing against bigger, better opponents has toughened him up, making him ripe for the pros here,” Joel told Arabnews shortly after the proceedings at Robinson’s Place in Manila.
“I became a better point guard (in the United States),” Raphael Banal said. “Before, I used to just be a scorer. I just seem to have the knack to score. But (after four years of college basketball in the US), I have become a better guard overall.
“I always look what’s good for the team first before anything else,” the younger Banal said. “All I want to do is win, and that’s the winning attitude I bring to the table for Blackwater.”
Getting Mac Belo No. 1 overall from the Gilas Cadet pool and then later on tabbing Raphael Banal first from the regular field of aspirants, the Elite bolstered their stock significantly and are looking at brighter days ahead when the 42nd PBA Season gets off the ground on Nov. 20.
Belo, the former Far Eastern gunslinger in the UAAP, was the first player selected from the Cadet pool as teams – all 12 of them – got a selection from the star-studded list of players which the Gilas Pilipinas program can tap for international meets in the next two years.
Kevin Ferrer, the fearless scorer out of Santo Tomas, went to Barangay Ginebra, which can now develop a truly dependable wingman with former MVP Mark Caguioa in the twilight of his career and Chris Ellis failing to really blossom according to his potential.
Arnold Van Opstal was snagged by San Miguel Beer; Jio Jalalon went to Star, Roger Pogoy got picked by TNT KaTropa, Rain or Shine got Mike Tollomia, Fil-Am Matthew Wright will be playing for Phoenix Petroleum, Ed Daquioag will be suiting up for Meralco, Mahindra got Russell Escoto, GlobalPort too Von Pessumal and Carl Cruz went to Alaska.
Those players all belong to the Gilas Cadet pool and will be tied with the National Team program – in an agreement with between the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the PBA – for the next two years, or until after the tedious Fiba Qualifying process for the 2019 World Cup set in China.
Trades among Cadet picks will not be allowed for that duration, though each team appeared to be satisfied with whom they selected.
The picks were announced in alphabetical order, as the natural order of the Draft wasn’t followed with the Gilas players. A marathon five-hour meeting was held on Thursday were the teams made their selections.
And that made the pick of Banal somewhat anti-climactic, as the television coverage even flashed him to be the No. 1 pick in the second round.
Banal, a 6-foot-2 point guard who is one of the sons of former Great Taste guard Joel Banal, was a no-brainer for the Elite, having come from the United States where he played his collegiate years.
The 24-year-old Banal is the first Filipino to successfully make a US collegiate team straight out of high school in the Philippines, opting to forego what many saw as a promising college career here after leading Ateneo to the UAAP high school title together with Keifer Ravena.
“Playing against bigger, better opponents has toughened him up, making him ripe for the pros here,” Joel told Arabnews shortly after the proceedings at Robinson’s Place in Manila.
“I became a better point guard (in the United States),” Raphael Banal said. “Before, I used to just be a scorer. I just seem to have the knack to score. But (after four years of college basketball in the US), I have become a better guard overall.
“I always look what’s good for the team first before anything else,” the younger Banal said. “All I want to do is win, and that’s the winning attitude I bring to the table for Blackwater.”
