Fil-foreigners under scrutiny

MANILA, Philippines - The citizenship documents of 15 Fil-foreign applicants to the coming PBA draft are now under scrutiny within the contestability period from July 14 to Aug. 12 and those cleared for eligibility will be in the final list of approved candidates to be released on Aug. 20.

The draft for the 40th season is scheduled on Aug. 24 at Robinsons Manila. Fil-foreigners are required to submit a Bureau of Immigration certification and Department of Justice affirmation of their Filipino citizenship for eligibility as draft candidates. Fil-foreign applicants should’ve turned in their documents by last July 8, the deadline set by the PBA. The list of prospective Fil-foreign draft candidates was circulated to PBA teams last July 11.

Consensus No. 1 overall pick Stanley Pringle, a Fil-Am from Penn State, has complied with the document requirements, it was confirmed by a PBA source recently. Another requirement for a Fil-foreigner is he must have played in at least two PBA D-League conferences before gaining eligibility for the draft. The exception is if the Fil-foreigner is 27 or over or if he has played for the Philippine men’s senior national team.

Of the 15 Fil-foreign draft candidates, eight are 27 and over. They are Pringle, 27, Philip Morrison, 28, Cody Tesoro, 27, Jeremy Bartolo, 27, Jonathan Semira, 27, Richard Cole, 29, Anthony Gavieres, 27 and Giorgio Umali, 28. The others are Franklin Bonifacio, 24, Kyle Pascual, 24, Andrew Avillanoza, 25, Chris Banchero, 25, Rome de la Rosa, 23, David Semerad, 23 and Anthony Semerad, 23. All the Fil-foreign applicants were born abroad.

Aside from Pringle, the other blue-chipper in the roster is Banchero who was named ABL Finals MVP for leading San Miguel Beer to the 2013 championship. Banchero, a 6-l guard from Seattle Pacific University, played two years in the ABL, averaging 12.7 points in the first season and 14.9 in his second.

Morrison of Asbury University in Kentucky could be the draft sleeper, unheralded but may prove to be a find. He played for the Saigon Heat and Singapore Slingers in the ABL. At Asbury, Morrison scored 1,770 points in three seasons and as a senior, averaged 21.7 points to rank seventh in the US NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Division II. Morrison is touted to be the second coming of former PBA sharpshooter Noy Castillo.

The tallest of the 15 Fil-foreigners is Avillanoza, a 6-6 center from Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Florida, the University of Central Florida and the University of the Visayas. He once won the CESAFI slam dunk title and played for Blackwater in the PBA D-League.

Four Fil-foreigners from San Beda College are also expected to be selected in the draft – twins David and Anthony Semerad, Pascual and De la Rosa. The Semerads, both 6-4, could be the third set of twins to play in the PBA after Jing and Noli Aldanese and Joel and Noel Guzman. Pascual is 6-4 and has played for N-Lex in the PBA D-League. De la Rosa is another N-Lex veteran.

Bartolo attended California State at San Bernardino, the same school that produced Jimmy Alapag. Gavieres is from Virginia Commonwealth where former PBA import Bernard Harris played while Umali went to Seattle Pacific like Banchero. Semira played at San Sebastian College and the Canadian league. Tesoro studied at Western Oregon University, Bonifacio at Las Positas College in Livermore, California, and Cole at NU.

  In the first round of the draft, the order is as follows: Globalport, Rain Or Shine (from Meralco), Barako Bull, N-Lex, Alaska, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, San Mig Coffee (from Barako, acquired from Petron/San Miguel Beer), Barako Bull (from Talk ‘N’ Text), Rain Or Shine, Barako Bull (from San Mig Coffee), Kia Motors and Blackwater.

Talk ‘N’ Text, San Miguel Beer and Meralco will not pick in the first round unless they are able to trade for slots. Barako Bull has three first round choices and Rain Or Shine, two.

In the second round, the order is as follows: Alaska (from Meralco), Rain Or Shine (from Globalport), Barako Bull, Alaska (from Air21/N-Lex), Alaska, Barako Bull (from Barangay Ginebra), Alaska (from Meralco, acquired from Petron/San Miguel Beer), Talk ‘N’ Text, Rain Or Shine, San Miguel Beer (from Barako, acquired from San Mig Coffee), Blackwater and Kia Motors. Alaska has four second round slots and Barako Bull and Rain Or Shine, two each. Meralco is left without a pick in both rounds.

In the third and succeeding rounds, only Kia Motors and Blackwater will pick. The order will be as follows: Kia Motors, Blackwater, Blackwater, Kia Motors, Kia Motors, Blackwater, Blackwater, Kia Motors, Kia Motors, Blackwater, Blackwater and Kia Motors.