PBA Draft

Munzon, Malonzo banner PBA Draft of 97 rookie aspirants

Delfin Dioquino

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Munzon, Malonzo banner PBA Draft of 97 rookie aspirants

TOP PROSPECTS. Filipino-Americans Jamie Malonzo (left) and Joshua Munzon are expected to hear their names called early on draft day.

Photos from PBA Images (Malonzo) and Chooks-to-Go (Munzon)

The 97 PBA Draft hopefuls eclipse the previous mark of 91 applicants in 2014

Joshua Munzon and Jamie Malonzo headline the record 97 rookie aspirants looking to make the big leap to the pro ranks through the PBA Draft.

The PBA finished accepting draft applications on Wednesday, January 27, with the 2021 class eclipsing the previous mark of 91 applicants in 2014 as the largest draft pool in league history.

In the 2014 Draft – where Stanley Pringle went No. 1 – 41 players got picked, while more than half wound up undrafted.

Filipino-Americans Munzon and Malonzo are expected to hear their names called early on draft day on March 14 following their impressive exploits in the local scene.

Munzon – a high-scoring guard – ended up as the top 3×3 player in the country, while Malonzo – an athletic forward – earned a Mythical Team selection in his lone UAAP season for La Salle.

Also throwing their names in the hat are Gilas Pilipinas cadets Calvin Oftana, Will Navarro, and Jaydee Tungcab, and 3×3 ace players Alvin Pasaol, Santi Santillan, and Taylor Statham.

Oftana, the NCAA Season 95 MVP, is touted as one of the potential top picks if there will not be a special draft for the national team.

Last year, Gilas Pilipinas drafted Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte, and Allyn Bulanadi, who are still serving the national team.

Other prominent prospects include UAAP standouts Aljun Melecio, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Jun Manzo, and James Laput, and NCAA stalwarts Larry Muyang and Ben Adamos. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.