No ban for draft dodgers

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA won’t ban players for skipping the pro league’s draft upon gaining eligibility and instead, has instituted a process where they may apply within three years through a special lottery or after a five-year sit-out. The windows, in effect, will always be open to those who miss the draft as there is no age limit for locals to enter unlike Fil-foreigners who are only eligible until they’re 30.

PBA legal counsel Atty. Melvin Mendoza said the other day the point of reckoning to determine the start of the three or five-year periods begins when a player becomes eligible for the draft, meaning when he is at least 22 or with two years of college and he must be at least 19. In Gilas star Dwight Ramos’ case, he is now 23 and finished his first two years of college at California State University Fullerton in 2018 at 20. If he opted to play for Ateneo in the UAAP, Ramos would’ve had two years of eligibility. Ramos recently signed a contract to turn pro in the Japanese B-League, renouncing his varsity eligibility. In Mendoza’s interpretation, his starting point of reckoning for missing the PBA draft was in 2018 so that his five-year sit-out will end in 2023.

Mendoza explained that the lottery will give equal chances to the 12 PBA teams, meaning no handicapping. “The lottery is for the 12 teams,” he said. “So anybody can get him. Eligibility of Ramos starts from two years of college and 19 years if he falls under this category. That’s my reading.” If Ramos or any other player does not avail of the three-year window for a special lottery, he may apply after a five-year sit-out.

The windows allow players like Ramos, Kai Sotto and Thirdy Ravena to explore playing opportunities overseas without closing their doors on the PBA. It’s a different case with Ray Parks who has left the PBA after two years as a restricted free agent to play in Japan. TNT will continue to hold his PBA rights for the next five years after which he may rejoin the PBA as an unrestricted free agent. The PBA has a rule that allows a player to become an unrestricted free agent after seven years but this is applicable only to those who were drafted from 2014 onwards. Kiefer Ravena’s case is an exception as he was allowed to terminate his NLEX contract to play in Japan for one season.

So far, eight Filipinos have been inked to play in the Japanese league which begins its 60-game regular season on Sept. 30 with the playoffs winding up in late May. The eight are Ramos, the Ravenas, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño, Kobe Paras, Kemark Carino and Parks. The monthly salary is reportedly in the range of P500,000 to P1 million.