I did
not check my Twitter account from
the hours 4pm to 7pm. I just didn’t. Long before Twitter ever happened, I am an
ardent viewer of watching the PBA Draft
on TV.
No
technological advancement will spoil that for me... unless I can’t resist it.
Newsflash:
I found out that I CAN’T RESIST SPOILING
MYSELF.
Plus
the InterAKTV site has an awesome
coverage. Hats off to Firequinito
and his buddies!
So
here’s the thing: I am going to brace myself for every long grandstanding
speech Commissioner Chito Salud will
give. I am going to sit back and sulk at any random crap they put in on what is
perceived as a “riveting” performance. I am going to check out a lot of lame TV
segments.
Anywho,
this should be a hoot!
* By the way: I changed some of
my picks leading through the draft with the developments of B-Meg and the other
transactions that happened.
STAGE
1: THE FESTIVITIES
Scene
starts out with a Commissioner Chito Salud speech. Then there’s the PBA honouring outgoing chairman B-Meg’s
Rene Pardo.
I’ll
blog about this on a different article.
STAGE
2: THE 2011 PBA DRAFT PROPER
FIRST
ROUND:
1 – POWERADE TIGERS / JV CASIO
NEED: MARQUEE POINT GUARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: JV CASIO
REACTION: Nice pick. JV Casio would
single-handedly raise Powerade from gutter hell and back to the top as if this
was the Chot Reyes-led Coca-Cola Tigers of the early 2000’s. Casio is the best
combo guard available and while Paul Lee is his younger version, Casio is going
to be a better fit for Bo Perasol’s system. Powerade needs all the scoring they
could get because last season, they only depended on Gary David. Besides, Casio
can also orchestrate. He is also a champion which is something Paul Lee has yet
to be. A Lee and Gary David partnership could be flawed.
2 – RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO
PAINTErs / paul lee
NEED: MARQUEE POINT GUARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: PAUL LEE
REACTION: Uy, I’m 2 of 2. Like I said,
the Elasto Painters are also in need of a marquee point guard. After Sol
Mercado and Jay-R Reyes left the squad, Rain or Shine only had one double-digit
scoring leader and that’s Gabe Norwood who also averaged his lowest since
joining the league. Paul Lee can work for Yeng Guiao and it’s about time Coach
Yeng gets a scorer. Lee is also a terrific orchestrator. Yeng can use Lee just
like what he did to Jimwell Torion on his first years at Red Bull but unlike
Torion, Paul Lee will not waste away the opportunity given to him.
3 – petron blaze boosters /
chris lutz
NEED: MARQUEE FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MARCIO
LASSITER
REACTION: In accordance to the trade
that will send Dondon Hontiveros back to the Petron Blaze Boosters, Barako Bull
also gave up this pick. With a tremendous lack on their SG spot (although they
could have cured this with Hontiveros in), the Blaze Boosters decided to ditch
Marcio Lassiter and pick Lutz. Like I said, Lutz is like a younger version of
Jeffrey Cariaso. He can do defense but his offensive explosions have yet to get
semblance. Of course Petron saw something cool about Lutz but hopefully it is
better than ditching Lassiter.
4 – POWERADE TIGErs / Marcio Lassiter
NEED: MARQUEE FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MAC BARACAEL
REACTION: Of course Powerade will select
Marcio Lassiter. The guy is a smaller version of Rudy Hatfield. The guy is
bulky for the SG/SF spot and the guy can haul down the boards and at the same
time, can unleash those wicked troikas in an instant. At this point, the
Powerade Tigers just had their best draft day in all of their history!
5 – shopinas clickers / mark
barroca
NEED: OFFENSIVE-MINDED POINT
GUARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: CHRIS LUTZ
REACTION: Apparently the struggle
surrounding this draft hasn’t been finalized and in the end, it was the
Clickers that owned it. The Clickers will use this selection to build for their
future and they did just that by having a leader to depend on. While I would
have use the selection to select a go-to-guy, having Barroca in the mix is not
necessarily a bad thing.
6 – ALASKA ACEs / mac baracael
NEED: MARQUEE GUARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MARK BARROCA
REACTION: How he fell off the top five
must be pissing him off. No thanks to the Petron shakeup however, this needs to
happen. As consolation for Baracael, Tim Cone will definitely use him. Have you
ever imagined a slasher and shooting combo that Baracael and Cyrus Baguio would
produce? I think with this exciting one-two punch, Cone will have no problems
making the Aces an exciting team to watch.
7 – meralco bolts / Jason Ballesteros
NEED: BACKUP CENTER
MY PERCEIVED PICK: JASON
BALLESTEROS
REACTION: As expected Talk N Text
shopped their pick to prospective buyers but instead of aiming high or for the
2012 PBA Draft, they did this to help their sister team. Again Meralco has been
vocal in their eagerness to claim Ballesteros. They have been yearning for a
big man that can be a beastly sub for Asi Taulava. Ballesteros might not be a
terror on offense but he will definitely get things done at the rebounding and
blocking department.
8 – barako bull / allein
Maliksi
NEED: SHOOTING GUARD/SMALL
FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: DYLAN ABABOU
REACTION: I’m shocked that they ditched
scoring Dylan Ababou for his backup in UST. Maliksi however, turned a lot of
heads when he helped the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems to the D-League Finals. In his
stint as the league’s first-ever MVP, I expect him to do wonders at Barako
Bull. I am still surprised though that he ended up this high on the draft.
9 – BARANGAY GINEBRA KINgs /
reil Cervantes
NEED: CENTER/POWER FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: REIL
CERVANTES
REACTION: I had this right and I am
excited at the possibilities of this guy playing for the Kings. Cervantes
almost played for Smart-Gilas and the guy is burly enough to compete as a
combo-forward. He has range and he can defend. The Kings are seriously lacking
at the big men spots and his entry to the squad should solve this.
10 BARAKO BULl / Dylan ababou
NEED: CENTER/POWER FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: ALLEIN
MALIKSI
REACTION: Rookie applicants, let this be
a lesson. Ababou barely participated on the proceedings of the rookie camp and
it resulted to him to almost end up on the second round of the draft. It’s kind
of puzzling actually. Anyway, Ababou has the size to play multiple spots and
may be a great libero to anything the Junel Baculi asks him. The Smart-Gilas
stint gave Ababou a chance to better his defense.
SECOND
ROUND:
11 SHOPINAS CLICKERs / magi
sison
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: JULIUS
PASCULADO
REACTION: Nice! I am a fan of this player and even if he is a benchwarmer at the
Gilas troupe, the guy can be a great double-double performer as seen in his UP
days where he almost scored with a double-double in his last season. Shopinas
solved their size woes with this selection and I’m definitely sure that with RJ
Jazul joining the team, the Smart-Gilas connection will be the core of the Clickers.
12 TALK N TEXT TROPANG
TEXTERS / pamboy raymundo
NEED: BACKUP GUARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: ERIC SALAMAT
REACTION: Wow. So I guess Eric Salamat
saw no love from the TNT bosses? And considering Pamboy is the star playmaker
of San Beda’s biggest thorn, this is a huge plus for the former King Stag. Raymundo
ranks second to Barroca when it comes to pass-first point guards and I think
this is an incredible addition to the TNT squad... until they have a buyer to
take his services.
13 ALASKA ACES / Eric
Salamat
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MAGI SISON
REACTION: Definitely TNT’s loss is Alaska’s
gain which is why the moment TNT passed on Salamat, Alaska snagged him in an
instant. The great thing about Eric is that he has a wicked defensive upside
which makes him a dangerous player when Alaska attempts to develop him into something
bigger.
14 ALASKA ACES / Julius
Pasculado
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: KEN ACIBAR
REACTION: I found a lot of readers in my
blog because of this guy and I am happy that Alaska claimed him. I initially
thought he’d go to Alaska but I thought his stock rose enough to end up getting
picked early. In an instant, Alaska has solved their guard woes. Let’s see if
they can solve their frontline.
15 ALASKA ACES / Ariel
Mepana
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: PAMBOY
RAYMUNDO
REACTION: I wasn’t really a fan of Mepana
because I thought of him as a mere rookie free agent but there is no question
that he has the skills to play in the league. Also getting picked by Alaska
bodes well for the former UV Lancer since Cebuana Lhuillier is Alaska’s “pseudo”
farm team in the D-League (Luigi Trillo is Cebuana’s coach while Bong Hawkins
also serves as assistant coach).
16 BMEG LLAMADOS / brian
ilad
NEED: BACKUP POWER FORWARD
MY PERCEIVED PICK: JAMES
MARTINEZ
REACTION: I’m not really a fan of this pick
because I thought Ilad never really did anything spectacular to warrant him
this early citation. Nonetheless, the guy had a pretty respectable stint in the
UAAP (except for a bad decision in his last UAAP game) and at the D-League.
17 meralco bolts / gilbert
bulawan
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MARVIN
GRAEBEL
REACTION: Alaska traded this pick to
Meralco because come on... they have four draft picks already. Gilbert Bulawan
can be a tough-as-nails defender for the Bolts. I don’t know if he’ll play big
minutes for the squad but hopefully Ryan Gregorio will at least give him a
chance to suit up.
18 BARANGAY GINEBRA KINGs /
james Martinez
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: GILBERT
BULAWAN
REACTION: Since the Kings has already
claimed a big man, can we really fault the Kings for picking James Martinez
even if Ken Acibar is still available? Martinez can be a draft steal but with
the long line of Ginebra guards in the roster, I doubt if this is a marriage
made in heaven for both sides. But then again, they made Rob Labagala what he
is now...
19 BARAKO BULL / ken acibar
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: ARIEL MEPANA
REACTION: Holy crap! From late first rounder, the former UE Red Warrior drifted to the
late second round. Now I fear the worst for this guy. Had he waited to get his
skills get furnished at the D-League and in the UAAP (he had a year left), he
could have been a great asset for the future. Instead, he saw the reality that
he is nothing more than a project that will get sporadic appearances in the
season.
20 BARAKO BULl / Paul
Sorongon
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MARC CAGOCO
REACTION: Hmm... I would have picked Marc
Cagoco or Mark Ababon than this guy. Sure the former UP Maroon logged a ton of
EXP’s playing in various tourneys but can we really say that he’ll get the
minutes at Barako Bull. Also, check in the fact that B-Bull had already claimed
three players before him. I doubt if this pick would stick.
21 powerade tigers / marc
agustin
NEED: BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE
MY PERCEIVED PICK: MARC AGUSTIN
REACTION: While I am right, I’m hoping
Talk N Text would use this pick to claim Marc Agustin. But kidding aside, this
trade is nice for Agustin since the Tigers aren’t that talent-stacked despite
their newest developments. Maybe Agustin can explode at this level of play? It
remains to be seen.
THIRD
ROUND:
Why
are we starting with Shopinas? Because Powerade, Barako Bull, Meralco, Alaska,
and B-Meg passed! Yes the issue of draft depth slowly crept in at this stage
which is good for the teams and bad for the undrafted players. Before the draft
ends, Ginebra and Talk N Text will also pass on potential players.
22 – SHOPINAS CLICKERS / marc
cagoco
REACTION: At this stage, Cagoco is a
steal. The former JRU Heavy Bomber is an effective orchestrator that can score
or defend. Sure he lacks size but maybe he can find a way to break in the
Shopinas roster. The problem though is that with Pong Escobal, Paolo Hubalde,
and possibly Borgie Hermida under contract and now Mark Barroca in their
roster, I doubt if they’ll use this player effectively.
23 – PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS /
Filemon Fernandez
REACTION: I wasn’t even expecting for
this guy to get picked at all but what the heck right? Maybe Petron saw
potential in this guy. One of the ten early birds of the draft applications, I
can’t see him breaking and expelling Alex Cabagnot in the starting spot but
maybe he can be developed at the D-League if he is still available.
FOURTH
ROUND:
24 – PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS / Gerald
lapus
REACTION: Yes, the draft made it to a
fourth round with Petron deciding to save Gerald Lapus from returning to
Arellano practice without any news about his pro career. While I am not sure if
he’ll stick in the lineup, one thing he’ll have that Fernandez doesn’t is the
fact that he is still young and Petron has quite a need to shore up their SG/SF
spots. Who knows? Peter June Simon and Topex Robinson were former fourth
rounders and
UNDRAFTED:
Mark Ababon, Marvin Graebel, Julio
Magbanua, Chris Concepcion, Ezer Rosopa, Martin Lloyd Antonio, Nino Nabong,
Alvyn Cabonce, Philip Medenilla, and John Chamberlin will return home empty-handed
and unlike past drafts where there are only two rounds, this time they’ll find
out how sorry their state is. Deep inside, coaches want Josh Urbiztondo and
Mark Yee to play for their teams but now, how can they say that if all ten
teams passed on their services?
This
is why performing well in the D-League and the other amateur leagues are
important. You just don’t go to a draft without any realistic goal. You need to
have a credible sports agent (Danny Espiritu is the best in this), you need to
have people buzzing in on your name and people need to know your game as well.
Most of the undrafted players are playing in near-empty coliseums in Manila.
Fact is, despite your popularity in the south, the best players make it because
they made their selves important and current.
As for
the undrafted, the only name I can see not drifting out is Ababon. The former
UV Lancer had a hand in unloading the ball to Greg Slaughter and Ariel Mepana
so that means he is not that much of a patsy.
The
best and the worst of the 2011 PBA Draft
will be on a different column.
GAME
OVER!