D-Day beckons for 79 hopefuls

It’s Draft Day once again in the PBA and 79 applicants are in line for the picking at the Robinsons Place in Manila this afternoon. Trades are expected on the floor as teams look to beef up with a slew of talent available in a rich rookie pool.

There were initially 86 applicants. Darwin Barrameda of Ateneo de Naga was struck out in the first screening as the 5-4 guard had entered the previous draft. Because he wasn’t drafted, Barrameda is now a free agent. Then, Jess Mar Villahermosa of San Beda College and Jeff Viernes of St. Clare College withdrew. Four other applicants were cut after failing to show up at the rookie camp without a legitimate excuse. They were Japs Cuan of UST, Mark Berry of NU, Franz Delgado of San Sebastian and Jumel Chien of Mapua. A check on the PBA records showed that Delgado also applied for the draft last year.

What’s remarkable is the presence of several bigs in the draft. Coaches are now deciding who are the game changers, the complementary players, the franchise anchors and the right fit for their teams. Last year, the draft went to six rounds and 39 of 58 were chosen. The original list had 71 applicants. Of the 39 who were picked, only 16 didn’t get to play even a game in the PBA. Being drafted is no guarantee of a slot in a team just as not being drafted is no guarantee of never playing in the PBA. Among the undrafted players who saw action in the PBA last season were Josh Urbiztondo, Chico Lanete, Mark Yee, Jonathan Uyloan, Chad Alonzo, Reed Juntilla, Al Vergara and Bryan Faundo.

The order of the draft in the first round is as follows: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, San Mig Coffee, Rain Or Shine, Barako Bull, Barako Bull, Barako Bull, Globalport, Alaska, Rain Or Shine and San Mig Coffee. Petron, Meralco, Air 21 and Talk ‘N’ Text will not pick in the first round because of prior trades. In the offseason, the four teams with no first round choices were actively in the trade market. Petron picked up Chris Ross and traded Denok Miranda. Meralco enlisted Kerby Raymundo, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Bitoy Omolon, Gary David and A. J. Mandani. Air 21 recruited Mac-Mac Cardona, Pamboy Raymundo and Bam-Bam Gamalinda. Talk ‘N’ Text welcomed Noy Baclao, Eric Salamat and Rob Reyes. Ginebra was also involved in wheeling and dealing, claiming Eman Monfort and Jay-R Reyes. Globalport added Chris Timberlake and Barako Bull, Rob Labagala.

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The rumor is Barako’s three first round picks are up for grabs. Players being floated as trade bait include Miranda, Mark Isip and Magi Sison. It will be interesting to find out how the deals are consummated on the floor during the draft.

There are seven hopefuls standing at least 6-5 and they’re tipped to go early in the stakes – 6-11 5/8 Greg Slaughter of Ateneo, 6-7 3/4 Raymond Almazan of Letran, 6-7 3/8 J. P. Erram of Ateneo, 6-7 1/4 Issac Holstein of West Virginia State, 6-7 John Maika Usita of Shoreline Community College, 6-6 Vince Tinte of UST and 6-5 5/8 Ian Sangalang of San Sebastian. Slaughter, Holstein and Usita are among seven Fil-foreigners in the cast. The others are Jens Knuttel, Nate Matute, Mike Silungan and James Forrester. Players with at least an 80-inch wingspan are Slaughter 85, Holstein 83 1/2, Usita 83, Erram 82 and Almazan 81.

Justin Melton, 26, is not listed as a Fil-foreigner since he was born in Angeles City. He played at Mount Olive College in North Carolina before suiting up for Gilas in the Hong Kong Cup and Dubai Invitationals early this year. The 5-9 3/8 guard whose mother Cecilia is Filipina was impressive in the rookie camp. He was one of only three players to register a vertical leap of at least 11 feet, the others were Slaughter and Holstein. Melton was the only rookie to go over 100 pushups and had 45 pull-ups compared to only eight by Sangalang and four by Usita. The heaviest in the pool is Usita who scaled 301 pounds. The lightest is 143-pound, 5-11 1/4 Jeffrey Bongat of the University of Perpetual Help at Cavite. The shortest is 5-5 1/8 Larry Rivera of Trinity University of Asia. A Fil-Am “local” in the draft is Christopher Exciminiano whose father William Green Veins is American and mother Gina Exciminiano is Filipina. The Olongapo-born guard played for FEU. He follows in the footsteps of Willie Miller, Topex Robinson, Jayson Castro, Gabby Espinas and Calvin Abueva.

Several former Ateneo cagers are in the pool – Slaughter, Erram, Nico Salva, Justin Chua, Oping Sumalinog and Ryan Buenafe. Three former La Salle Archers are in the list – L. A. Revilla, Joshua Webb and Sam Marata (who played for UP last season). Webb, 23, will set a record if he makes it to the PBA because his grandfather Freddie and uncle Jason are former pros, extending the heritage to a third generation.

Three intriguing prospects are Usita, Forrester and Holstein. The three Fil-foreigners are managed by player agents Matthew Manotoc and Marvin Espiritu. Manotoc’s father Tommy was once PBA deputy commissioner while Espiritu’s father Danny takes care of over 60 PBA players including Castro, Arwind Santos, Mark Caguioa, David, Raymundo and Cardona. Usita’s father John is from Cagayan Valley. The hulking center didn’t play basketball until he was 21 and was once offered a full athletic scholarship to play in Seattle. Forrester’s mother Leiticia Parinas is from Pampanga. He was born and raised in Toronto and trained at the IMG Academy for a year after high school. Forrester averaged 12.5 points for Cagayan in the PBA D-League. Holstein’s mother Magdalena Asmolo is from Leyte. He led the PBA D-League in blocked shots with Big Chill and was a former enlisted man with the US Air Force.

Slaughter, Sangalang and Almazan are widely tipped to go 1-2-3. Other first-round options are 5-9 1/2 Terrence Romeo of FEU, 6-0 5/8 Jeric Teng of UST, 5-9 1/2 R. R. Garcia of FEU, Holstein, Forrester, Salva and 6-1 3/4 J. R. Cawaling of FEU.

The youngest in the pool is Romeo at 21 while the oldest is John Gonzales, also of FEU, at 28. Sangalang is 21 but a few months older than Romeo while Ryeon de los Trinos of the University of Manila, Ezekiel Echane of Jose Rizal University, Jerryvi Glorioso of CEU, Gaylord Rodriguez of the University of the Visayas, Kliff Richard Romera of Polytechnic University and Carlos Fenequito of UST are all 28 but a few months younger than Gonzales.