Pro league foresees deep draft

MANILA, Philippines - From all indications, it will be a deep draft in the PBA on Aug. 28 as a slew of collegiate hotshots and standouts from Smart Gilas are expected to apply for the two-round lottery.

PBA commissioner Chito Salud said the other day all Fil-foreigners will be required to play at least two conferences in the PBA D-League before gaining eligibility to apply for the draft except for those with the national squad. Fil-foreigners must also submit a certification from the Bureau of Immigration and confirmation by the Department of Justice of their Filipino citizenship as a requirement for eligibility in the draft.

The rule on Fil-foreigners strikes out D-League rookies Matt Lee of UCLA, Jason Deutchman of San Diego State, A. J. Mandani of Missouri University of Science and Technology and Cliff Hodge of Hawaii-Pacific from this year’s draft. They will need to play in another D-League conference to gain eligibility.

“The PBA has sent out a memo requiring all Fil-foreigners to play in the D-League for two conferences before becoming eligible for the draft,” said PBA operations and technical director Rickie Santos. “The only exceptions are those playing for the national team.”

The rule blocked an earlier proposal requiring Fil-foreigners to play in four D-League conferences over two seasons.

The next D-League conference will start in October. Salud said the goal is to hold two D-League conferences a season. “If there are 16 teams in the D-League, we’ll be playing about seven months of the year,” he said. “So in that case, we might do three playing days a week instead of only Tuesdays and Thursdays as we’re doing this conference.” The D-League now has 13 teams but at least three more are likely to join next season.

Despite the rule on Fil-foreigners, PBA media affairs chief and special assistant to the commissioner Willie Marcial said the coming draft may fill up all the slots in the lottery without a single team opting to pass.

Among the local stars tipped to apply for the draft are UE’s Paul Lee, FEU’s Reil Cervantes, San Sebastian’s Calvin Abueva, Ateneo’s Eric Salamat and University of Cebu’s Junmar Fajardo.

Cervantes, a rugged 6-4 power forward who was slapped a one-game suspension for clotheslining Lee in a UAAP encounter last season, will give up his last year of varsity eligibility to turn pro. Anton Montinola, FEU’s representative in the UAAP Board of Trustrees, confirmed that Cervantes will forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility. “Cervantes has two kids and needs a PBA contract,” said Montinola.

Lee, once described by former PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad as probably one of the most creative and explosive point guards to play in the college level in the last 10 years, is a blue-chipper who will likely be picked among the top five in the draft.

Fajardo is a 6-9 center who is reportedly being trained by PBA legend Ramon (El Presidente) Fernandez in Cebu. His career has been carefully managed by lawyer Baldomero Estenzo. In the last three Philippine Collegiate Champions League tournaments, the lanky Fajardo has more than held his own against top-notch Manila opposition, averaging 23.5 points. Fajardo is touted to be the PBA’s next dominant big man in the mold of Fernandez or Abet Guidaben only he’s at least four inches taller.

Making the draft deeper will be the entry of the Smart Gilas players, including Fil-foreigners Marcio Lassiter of California State at Fullerton and Chris Lutz of Marshall University. Naturalized player Marcus Douthit, however, is not eligible because the draft is open only to Filipino citizens with Filipino bloodlines.

Jvee Casio, Mark Barroca, Mac Baracael, Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros are certain to join the draft. Aldrech Ramos, Greg Slaughter and J. R. Cawaling will postpone their entry to play in the UAAP. Gilas skipper Chris Tiu is eligible for the draft but it’s uncertain if he will apply because of family commitments. If Tiu enters the draft, he’ll be a first round pick for sure.

“They (Ramos and Cawaling) feel bad about the last three UAAP seasons and it’s their last chance to win a championship this year,” said Montinola, explaining the two Tamaraws’ decision to delay their entry into the PBA.

With Barako Bull not expected to reactivate its franchise, the PBA will play nine teams in the Governors Cup. Smart Gilas has begged off from participating as the 10th squad.

The Governors Cup will open with Talk ‘N’ Text battling B-Meg in Dubai on June 2. The next day, the Texters play Barangay Ginebra, also in Dubai. The Manila games begin on June 12. Santos said the third conference will end Aug. 19 at the latest.