A few minutes before the draft, Alaska dealt Duremdes to Sta. Lucia in exchange for draft picks, and used these to pick two other Fil-Am players aside from Cortez -- a move that had the Uytengsu franchise yielding the final piece of the Alaska dynasty in the 90s.
"We just did it. It happened quickly. Kenneth was informed of the trade a few minutes before the draft and he took it as a true professional," said Alaska coach Tim Cone of the trade that caught many by surprise during the draft exercise witnessed by a huge Sunday crowd in the spacious Makati mall.
"He (Duremdes) sent feelers that he wanted to be traded. And with the salary cap going down, we’re having a hard time coping up with it. We found the opportunity to get young players with cheaper price. Time was running short and we had to make the decision," Cone added.
Duremdes, who was in his hometown in Koronadal, South Cotabato, nursing a fever, said he doesn’t feel bad at all in a phone interview with The STAR. He said: "Professional naman tayo at alam natin ang kalakaran sa basketball. Pagmedyo matanda ka na, talagang bibitawan ka na."
With the trade, Duremdes, the 1998 MVP awardee, will have to spend the last five years of his mega-buck P48 million contract spread over eight years with Sta. Lucia. He said: "Okay lang ako doon. At least doon makakasama ko si Marlou (Aquino) at Dennis (Espino) na mga kaibigan ko. Si coach Al (Chua) nakasama ko na rin (at Pop Cola)."
Sta. Lucia team manager Buddy Encarnado, for his part, said: "Alaska initiated the trade. We took the gamble and never let it go. This will enhance our image as a truly home-grown team."
Suddenly finding themselves neck-deep in the pay cap, Encarnado agreed to release Omanzie Rodriguez and Marvin Ortiguerra to FedEx without compensation. FedEx also got Roger Yap from Purefoods in a separate deal during the draft exercise.
Alaska used the first-round pick it acquired from Sta. Lucia – No. 5 – in stealing Brandon Lee Kaui Cablay. Talk N Text made the first steal in the draft when it used the No. 4 pick overall on Harvey Carey.
"We’re impressed (by Carey) during the pre-draft camp and we invited him to practice for us yesterday (Saturday)," said Talk N Text team manager Frankie Lim of the 6-foot-3 Carey, a holder of a degree in sociology at Sonoma State.
The Duremdes trade and the two steals overshadowed Cortez’s emergence as top pick, Romel Adducul No. 2 by Barangay Ginebra and Eddie Laure No. 3 by Shell in the draft that had a total of 40 players plucked from the draft pool featuring a total of 62 players.
Rounding out the Magic 10 picks were No 6 Billy Mamaril by Purefoods, No. 7 Enrico Villanueva by Red Bull, No. 8 Marlon Legaspi by San Miguel, No. 9 Reynel Hugnatan by Coca-Cola and No. 10 Jimmy Alapag by Talk N Text.
Shell coach Perry Ronquillo said they opted to get Laure over Villanueva when Ginebra did pick Adducul at No. 2.
Villanueva, the 6-foot-6 Ateneo product, didn’t feel bad dropping to No. 7, saying: "Kanya-kanyang kailangan ang mga teams. Thankful ako, at least nakuha ako."
Barangay Ginebra made Sunday Salvacion the first pick in the second round, then FedEx tapped in John Ferriols, Shell Adonis Sta. Maria, Red Bull Cyrus Baguio, Alaska Eugene Tejada, Shell Ronald Tubid, Red Bull Rysal Castro, San Miguel Arnold Calo, Red Bull Vincent San Diego and Alaska Leo Bat-og. Alaska and Sta. Lucia swapped picks in the second round as part of the Duremdes deal.
Baguio, the flambuoyant guard-forward out of UST, made it to the draft but will need to get release from his PBL team Dazz to be able to play in the 2003 PBA season starting Feb. 16. He’s under contract with Dazz until April.
FedEx still caught exciting forward Bruce Dacia in the third round where Ginebra got Rob Johnson, Shell Ralph Rivera, Purefoods Jenkins Mesina, Sta. Lucia Ariel Capus, Talk N Text William Villa, Red Bull Dustin Coloso, Coca-Cola Jeck Chia and Alaska Stephen Padilla.
Drafted in the fourth to sixth rounds were Paul Ferreira (FedEx), Dennis Madrid (Shell), Gerry Jaca (Purefoods), Richard Hardine (Talk N Text), Clarence Cole (Red Bull), Jeffrey Sanders (Coca-Cola), Sonnyboy Margate (Alaska), Mike Bravo (FedEx), Joseph Dominguez (Purefoods), Ramil Ferma (Red Bull) and Sanley de Castro (Purefoods).
Red Bull had the most number of draftees with seven. Purefoods, Shell and Alaska had five apiece, Talk N Text and FedEx four each, Coca-Cola and Ginebra three each, and Sta. Lucia the least with two. Newly-appointed PBA commissioner Noli Eala, addressing the annual draft for the first time, said: "The view from this side of the stage is so much better, I now see what my predecessors saw, and I also see hope, optimism and dreams." To the players, Eala said: "You are my stars." And to the fans, the newly-minted commissioner vowed: "We will give you what you want." Former commissioner Jun Bernardino, after accepting a plaque of recognition, told the assembly: "It’s never easy to say goodbye to something that has been a part of your life for 20 years. I’ll miss you but you’ll never be forgotten. Thank you for your friendship."