PBA Rookie Draft pushed back to May REY JOBLE
AFTER being idle for more than a month following the surge of Covid-19 cases in the early part of the year, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has decided to push back not only the ongoing Governors’ Cup but also its annual Rookie Draft.
Originally set this April, the league will hold the Rookie Draft in May instead, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said.
League chairman Ricky Vargas was happy to learn that this early, there had been numerous inquiries on the coming draft, particularly Fil-foreign applicants.
“I understand the PBA Rookie Draft will be sometime in May and there will be new draft rules. It will be more open to accept Fil-foreign players,” said Vargas.
In last year’s Rookie Draft, several Fil-foreign players were unable to join the annual rites after failing to submit the documents required by the league.
Among those top prospects who failed to join the draft were Jason Brickman, Jeremiah Gray and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, among others.
Gray and Ganuelas-Rosser took their first step of entering the PBA when they participated in the 3x3 tournament, a standalone league put up late last year.
Ganuelas-Rosser led the Limitless Appmasters, Phoenix’s 3x3 team, in winning the grand championship, while Gray played for first leg champion TNT, but got injured in the second leg and was unable to play ever since.
Brickman, a talented 5-foot-10 guard, was supposed to play for Meralco’s 3x3 team, but found himself playing in Taiwan’s T1 League for the Kaohsiung Aquas.
In the coming draft, the league will be more lenient to Fil-foreign applicants as a Philippine passport will be enough document to make them eligible.
But the Gilas special draft is under scrutiny as several board members were having reservations doing it.
Vargas said they have yet to make anything concrete about the special draft, but they will continue the discussions in the future meetings in making it possible.
Cited as an example was the case of Jordan Heading, who was selected as No.1 pick in the special draft for Gilas last year, but decided to bring his act to Taiwan instead.