Blue-eyed Fil-Am hotshot

The next Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) draft will be in July and there is talk that a blue-eyed, 6-4 Fil-Am point guard could be the prize catch of the batch.

It’s rumored that he flew in last year and showed up at a practice of a PBA team. During a break, someone put a ball in his hands and he did things that had the PBA coach drooling. An insider whispered that the coach told the kid’s Los Angeles-based agent Mike Gonzalez to keep him under wraps, send him back to the US and quietly include him in the coming draft as an unscouted entry.

The problem is secrets are hard to keep in the PBA.

"It’s not often you find a 6-4 point guard unless you look in the NBA (National Basketball Association),"said Gonzalez. "Here’s a kid who can shoot, score, pass and set up the play. Think of the mismatch in his position."

So what’s his name?

He’s Brandon Kephardt of Oklahoma Christian University. Gonzalez said he averaged about 14 points a game for the varsity. Kephardt is 23 and works in his father’s auto repair shop in Oklahoma.

Kephardt’s mother is Mary Amoan who traces her roots to Lanao del Norte and is of royal Muslim blood.

Gonzalez said his Department of Justice (DOJ) clearance is expected any day and that should pave the way for his application in the draft. Once the clearance is confirmed, Gonzalez said he’ll bring in Kephardt to play in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) to comply with the new PBA requirement for Fil-Ams.

How did Kephardt hook up with Gonzalez? "He must have heard about my work in the PBA,"replied the agent. "He e-mailed me and asked if we could talk."

PBA commissioner Noli Eala recently announced that from now on, a Fil-Am draft applicant must play at least 25 games in a PBA-recognized league such as the PBL or the University Athletic Association of the Philippines or the National Collegiate Athletic Association or the Cebu Basketball League or the National Basketball Conference or some other qualified circuit. That’s on top of the minimum age requirement of 23 and the stipulation that his application must be filed four years after the graduation of his high school class.

Additionally, the PBA will limit to five the Fil-Ams in the roster of a team starting in 2006. The limitation is 40 percent of the 12 players in the lineup. A proposal to limit each team to draft a single Fil-Am was thumbed down. That means a team with more than five Fil-Ams must now begin thinking of a cutback in time for the 2006 deadline.

There is no set definition of a Fil-Am but in my opinion, he must be born overseas to at least one Filipino parent. If that’s the case, players like Don Allado, Ja-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa who grew up in the US would not qualify as Fil-Ams because they were born here–they would be considered Filipinos.

A Fil-Am who’s in town is 6-1, 19-year-old guard Kevin Dalafu of Vanguard University, the same Los Angeles Division II school that produced Alaska’s Brandon Cablay. Dalafu is vacationing in Manila for the summer.

Dalafu’s father is Filipino and mother is American. A few weeks ago, Dalafu asked if he could practice with the Sta. Lucia Realty team. Realtors coach Alfrancis Chua said why not. Dalafu impressed Chua particularly after slamming the ball on a one-on-one fastbreak against Bitoy Omolon.

Dalafu’s agent–who also happens to be Gonzalez–said the pro prospect initially thought of enrolling at either La Salle orAteneo but the Vanguard coach wouldn’t let him go. Dalafu reportedly said he’s learning a lot playing against bigger boys. He’ll use the experience when he plays in the PBA sooner or later.

"Kevin wants to finish his studies at Vanguard so it’ll be three more years before he applies for the PBA draft,"said Gonzalez. "But coach Alfrancis told me Kevin’s ready to play in the PBA right now. Kevin plays like Mike Cortez and with a little more beef, he could be outstanding in the PBA." Gonzalez said four of the imports he recruited for the recent Fiesta Conference will be suiting up in the Korean league whose schedule runs eight months. Three Korean teams were involved in a tug-of-war for Victor Thomas’ services. Derrick Brown and Galen Young were already signed up. Torraye Braggs is negotiating to bring his family along because of the long Korean season.

Thomas took the Changwon LG Sakers club to the semifinals last season and was so popular with Koreans that a fans club was set up for him. He averaged 23.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Sakers.

Gonzalez said Mark Sanford is now trying out for the Utah Jazz. He disclosed that Sanford had requested to sit out Coca-Cola’s third place game against Talk ‘N’ Text in the recent Fiesta Conference to preserve himself for the Jazz camp. But Gonzalez said Sanford had to honor his contract to play.

"Mark made the request two hours before the game so I told him no way," said Gonzalez. "He’s a true pro. He went on to play and scored 26 points but Coca-Cola lost by nine."