From college to MPBL
Paul Desiderio of University of the Philippines, Arvin Tolentino of Ateneo, and Kib Montalbo of La Salle. These are some of the finest players playing their final season in the UAAP
Men’s basketball tournament.
Their next destination is obviously the PBA, but they won’t be able to make it on time for the coming Rookie Draft due to the change of calendar in the UAAP, which just started its new season this month.
So where will these talented cagers end up as soon as they wrap up their final season?
The next best ideal destination for them is the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League where the likes of Ray Parks, Vince Tolentino, JJ Alejandro, and Ron Dennison, players who have expressed their intention of joining the pros, are already playing while waiting to be drafted in the PBA.
But unlike Parks, Tolentino, Alejandro, and Dennison, the graduating UAAP players cannot join the PBA Rookie Draft this season and will have to wait until next year to enter the big league.
Desiderio, Tolentino, and Montalbo will need a league to play for and the MPBL where the ex-pros, promising newcomers, talented local and homegrown players are seeing action, is definitely a logical choice.
These players can be accommodated by the league as soon as the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league comes up with a special draft, which is now being planned as of the moment.
The entry of these graduating college players in the MPBL will not only prepare them for the PBA, but they would also help teams in the league put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao and supervised by PBA legend and former league MVP Kenneth Duremdes, who is serving as commissioner, to be more competitive.
In the MPBL, these graduating players in the UAAP as well as the other collegiate leagues who wish to enter the special draft if approved, could find a sanctuary and play an in-between league.
Duremdes and the other officials of the MPBL will discuss the matter with Senator Pacquiao and will ask his approval for the implementation of a special draft.
Are these graduating players pro ready? We can only find out and the MPBL serves as a good platform and use the league as a barometer whether they could jump into the pros immediately or hone their skills further more. These players can also be treated to different tastes of basketball — from the ones they got used to in the metropolis to a new flavor made in Visayas and Mindanao.
At least, for the time being, these players knew they have an ideal destination while they are helping their respective squads in their ongoing campaign in the UAAP.