MANILA, Philippines — In the absence of the Draft Combine, PBA teams are taking the next best step: Checking out their rookie prospects through “private workouts.”
“We’re planning to invite some players considering the Draft Combine won’t take place anymore,” NLEX coach Yeng Guiao said during the Road Warriors’ “Arangkada!” forum on Facebook.
“So this week, we’ll sit down with the assistant coaches to decide who we want to see in our workouts kasi meron tayong sinusunod na (we’re following health and safety) protocols so that our workouts can still be safe,” he added.
The PBA has cancelled the Draft Combine – a two-day activity where aspirants get to showcase their skills before the actual drafting – to ensure the safety of the participants.
But the pro league has given the squads another way to get a look-see and gauge their prospects from the deep pool of applicants.
“Teams are open to inviting rookies to private workouts so long as they follow our existing guidelines and protocols, including testing,” PBA commissioner Willie Marcial told The STAR.
Magnolia was among the first to invite rookie aspirants in. The Hotshots have arranged sessions this week with their prospective picks for the No. 10 like big men Larry Muyang, Santi Santillan, Ben Adamos and James Laput, and are eyeing another one for the guards afterwards.
The Road Warriors, meanwhile, seek to make the most of their rights to the Nos. 3 and 4 in the deepest ever draft set on March 14 to stack up. They also have a crack at two picks in the special Gilas Pilipinas round.
The team is on the lookout for a big man to fill in the void left by Poy Erram and possibly Asi Taulava, in case he decides to retire this season.
Like the pros, the rookie candidates must undergo RT-PCR testing and yield a negative result to be allowed to join the PBA teams’ workouts and follow a strict home-venue-home routine.