Okay, this is my first official written piece as part of the Rivals PH network. Some of the answers here made it to the 4x4 on the recently concluded PBA Draft. But this post contains my entire thought process. Feel free to express your agreement / disagreement.
1. Who was the biggest winner in the 2014 PBA Draft?
A. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. SanMig Coffee, fresh from a Grand Slam (and 4 straight conference titles), opted to trade out of the draft once Rodney Brondial was selected by Ginebra (you can thank Y! Philippines' Carlo Pamintuan for that tidbit), netting the chance to switch first round picks with Globalport and a 2018 second round pick.
B. The Gatorade PH PBA Draft Combine Scrimmages. The guys of Gatorade brought back this aspect of the combine this year, and it yielded the necessary impact for a few guys to get drafted, most notably Mike Gamboa with Rain or Shine and Maclean Sabelina for Blackwater.
C. Globalport. They have the top-ranked player in the draft in Stanley Pringle. They added another shooter in Anthony Semerad. They added a big man in Prince Caperal. They added another point guard in Nard Pinto. All four picks might make the team and possibly play vital roles for Pido Jarencio.
D. Blackwater. The expansion team, even though they have the 12th pick, actually got eight quality selections that can compete for spots alongside their expansion draft picks.
E. Ateneo. The basketball program yields PBA players again with two more picks in Juami Tiongson and Frank Golla. You could make a case for a third with Ateneo HS product (and UP Maroon) Gamboa. You're potentially next, Nico Elorde and Chris Newsome, in 2015.
F. The NCAA. One advantage they have over the UAAP is having their student-athletes not lose their collegiate eligibility if they applied for the draft.
2. Who was the biggest loser in the 2014 PBA Draft?
A. Only 41 out of 87 players were selected. Among the undrafted guys: the UE swingmen Ralf Olivares and Lord Casajeros. Adamson shooting menace Roider Cabrera. La Salle big man Jovet Mendoza (who has the more impressive college resume than Papot Paredes). JRU scoring machine Philip Paniamogan.
B. Barako Bull. Not surprisingly, the Energy traded their top draft pick, 3rd overall, to a RSA-owned team for a set of assets that when you look at it, don't exactly compare to what San Miguel got in Ronald Pascual.
C. Meralco was devoid of a pick in the draft. And what was odd (for me, at least) was their full representation at the draft knowing that they won't pick at all.
D. Chris Banchero. Because everyone ticketed him to be a top-3 pick. Imagine the surprise of Alaska getting him at 5th overall.
E. Juneric Baloria. A guy many tagged to be a late first round pick goes down to the 5th round (30th overall). Fortunately for him, Blackwater will need someone with scoring capabilities.
3. Who do you think will make the biggest impact in his rookie year?
Off the court: Manny Pacquiao will have the impact the PBA desperately needs, which is to get mainstream attention. To that, the league needs his presence to actually take advantage. His press conference to announce that he was going to be the head coach of Kia got attention from three different media types (basketball media, boxing media, and auto media). All the speculation and "controversy" makes it fascinating and interesting. He is why the league actually is now looking into the possibility of playing at the 55k-seater Philippine Arena on opening day.
On the court: Pringle would be the easy choice, because he can play immediately and instantly take the role of the third guard in Globalport's backcourt rotation, alongside Alex Cabagnot and Terrence Romeo.
However, don't sleep on the Blackwater point guards. They were impressed enough by Tiongson from their Malaysia experience to take him as their first-ever draft pick (because face it, that spot was Jericho Cruz's if not for Rain or Shine snatching him three picks earlier). This move reminds me of the 2014 NBA Draft, when the Raptors picked Bruno Caboclo. If you are that confident in the guy, and you are not sure if he will still be around when you pick again, you go get him already.
They also luckily snagged Heruela at the 3rd round with their 26th overall pick. Considering the expansion draft yielded Paul Artadi and Chris Timberlake, one could argue they are already are better off keeping the rookies. Even Clark Bautista (drafted 34th) has a shot.
4. Who was the most surprising pick of the 2014 PBA draft?
Ronald Pascual going third was one, although it clearly fits a need for San Miguel after their injury issues with Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter. Paredes (15th) being selected ahead of Caperal (17th) is another, considering their collegiate resumes. Also, Rain or Shine not address their issues on lack of size with any of their four draft picks.
1. Who was the biggest winner in the 2014 PBA Draft?
A. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. SanMig Coffee, fresh from a Grand Slam (and 4 straight conference titles), opted to trade out of the draft once Rodney Brondial was selected by Ginebra (you can thank Y! Philippines' Carlo Pamintuan for that tidbit), netting the chance to switch first round picks with Globalport and a 2018 second round pick.
B. The Gatorade PH PBA Draft Combine Scrimmages. The guys of Gatorade brought back this aspect of the combine this year, and it yielded the necessary impact for a few guys to get drafted, most notably Mike Gamboa with Rain or Shine and Maclean Sabelina for Blackwater.
C. Globalport. They have the top-ranked player in the draft in Stanley Pringle. They added another shooter in Anthony Semerad. They added a big man in Prince Caperal. They added another point guard in Nard Pinto. All four picks might make the team and possibly play vital roles for Pido Jarencio.
D. Blackwater. The expansion team, even though they have the 12th pick, actually got eight quality selections that can compete for spots alongside their expansion draft picks.
E. Ateneo. The basketball program yields PBA players again with two more picks in Juami Tiongson and Frank Golla. You could make a case for a third with Ateneo HS product (and UP Maroon) Gamboa. You're potentially next, Nico Elorde and Chris Newsome, in 2015.
F. The NCAA. One advantage they have over the UAAP is having their student-athletes not lose their collegiate eligibility if they applied for the draft.
2. Who was the biggest loser in the 2014 PBA Draft?
A. Only 41 out of 87 players were selected. Among the undrafted guys: the UE swingmen Ralf Olivares and Lord Casajeros. Adamson shooting menace Roider Cabrera. La Salle big man Jovet Mendoza (who has the more impressive college resume than Papot Paredes). JRU scoring machine Philip Paniamogan.
B. Barako Bull. Not surprisingly, the Energy traded their top draft pick, 3rd overall, to a RSA-owned team for a set of assets that when you look at it, don't exactly compare to what San Miguel got in Ronald Pascual.
C. Meralco was devoid of a pick in the draft. And what was odd (for me, at least) was their full representation at the draft knowing that they won't pick at all.
D. Chris Banchero. Because everyone ticketed him to be a top-3 pick. Imagine the surprise of Alaska getting him at 5th overall.
E. Juneric Baloria. A guy many tagged to be a late first round pick goes down to the 5th round (30th overall). Fortunately for him, Blackwater will need someone with scoring capabilities.
3. Who do you think will make the biggest impact in his rookie year?
Off the court: Manny Pacquiao will have the impact the PBA desperately needs, which is to get mainstream attention. To that, the league needs his presence to actually take advantage. His press conference to announce that he was going to be the head coach of Kia got attention from three different media types (basketball media, boxing media, and auto media). All the speculation and "controversy" makes it fascinating and interesting. He is why the league actually is now looking into the possibility of playing at the 55k-seater Philippine Arena on opening day.
On the court: Pringle would be the easy choice, because he can play immediately and instantly take the role of the third guard in Globalport's backcourt rotation, alongside Alex Cabagnot and Terrence Romeo.
However, don't sleep on the Blackwater point guards. They were impressed enough by Tiongson from their Malaysia experience to take him as their first-ever draft pick (because face it, that spot was Jericho Cruz's if not for Rain or Shine snatching him three picks earlier). This move reminds me of the 2014 NBA Draft, when the Raptors picked Bruno Caboclo. If you are that confident in the guy, and you are not sure if he will still be around when you pick again, you go get him already.
They also luckily snagged Heruela at the 3rd round with their 26th overall pick. Considering the expansion draft yielded Paul Artadi and Chris Timberlake, one could argue they are already are better off keeping the rookies. Even Clark Bautista (drafted 34th) has a shot.
4. Who was the most surprising pick of the 2014 PBA draft?
Ronald Pascual going third was one, although it clearly fits a need for San Miguel after their injury issues with Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter. Paredes (15th) being selected ahead of Caperal (17th) is another, considering their collegiate resumes. Also, Rain or Shine not address their issues on lack of size with any of their four draft picks.
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