MANILA, Philippines – And so it begins.
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) kicked off its 2012-2013 season on Sunday, August 19, with the annual PBA rookie draft.
PBA Commissioner Chito Salud opened the proceedings with a speech. Addressing the draft applicants, he said “The draft is not an end itself. It is the beginning to the continuing commitment in and out of the court.”
As expected Petron Blaze Boosters selects 6’10” center Junmar Fajardo first overall. There were a few surprises as Barako Bull selected Aldrech Ramos at 5th overall and later on traded the pick to B-Meg Llamados for forward Sean Anthony. The Llamados acquired Anthony by trading their 9th pick to GlobalPort.
There was also an awkward moment when Commissioner Salud announced Ginebra’s first pick. Salud paused after saying the prospect’s first name, “Chris…”, the crowd erupted thinking the most popular team in the league is picking the most popular player in the draft. The cheers died down a little when Salud finally mentions that Ginebra picked the athletic Chris Ellis, not the charismatic Chris Tiu.
Here’s a summary of the picks:
- Petron Blaze Boosters – Junmar Fajardo
- Alaska Aces – Calvin Abueva
- Petron Blaze Boosters – Alex Mallari
- Meralco Bolts – Clifford Hodge
- Barako Bull – Aldrech Ramos
- Ginebra San Miguel – Chris Ellis
- Rain or Shine – Chris Tiu
- Ginebra San Miguel – Keith Jensen
- B-Meg trades pick along with Val Acuna for forward Sean Anthony; Global port selects Vic Manuel
- GlobalPort – Jason Deutchmann
- Air21 Express – Yousef Taha
- B-Meg trades pick along with Sean Anthony to Barako Bull; Barako selects Dave Marcelo
- B-Meg Llmados – Jewel Ponferada
- GlobalPort – AJ Mandani
- Barako Bull – Lester Alvarez
- Barako Bull – Emman Monfort
- Meralco Bolts – Kelly Nabong
- Barako Bull – Woody Co
- Alaska Aces – Raphy Reyes
- Talk ‘N Text – Jaypee Belencion
- Air21 Express – Simon Atkins
- Alaska Aces – Karl Dehesa
- Barako Bull – Ryan Boado
- Meralco Bolts – Janus Lozada
- Petron Blaze – Mark Sarangay
- GlobalPort – Macky Acosta
- Rain or Shine – Bacon Austria
- Ginebra – Jerick Canada
- B-Meg Llamados – Gian Chiu
- Talk ‘N Text TropangTexters – Jason Escueta
Other players drafted in the 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds are:
Barako Bull – Kokoy Hermosisima
Meralco Bolts – Eric Suguitan
GlobalPort – Jan Colina, VJ Serios
Rain or Shine – Jewel Palomique
Ginebra San Miguel – Paul Zamar, JR Buensuceso, Elliot Tan
B-Meg Llamados – Ramon Mabayo
What are your thoughts on the results of the draft? Let us know in the comments section below! -Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.