PBA teams pulled off surprises, while a number of rookie aspirants slid from their prospective spots in the PBA Rookie Draft on Sunday, March 14.

While much of the first round unfolded as expected, with Joshua Munzon and Jamie Malonzo going No. 1 and No. 2, Barangay Ginebra made a stunning move by selecting Ken Holmqvist with the 12th pick.

It should be noted that Ginebra already has two towering big men in Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar, but that did not prevent the team from picking the 6-foot-8 Holmqvist from Far Eastern University.

Ginebra proceeded to draft 6-foot-3 forward Brian Enriquez from William Woods University with the 13th pick. (FULL LIST: 2021 PBA Draft)

It seemed like Ginebra already had its eyes on Enriquez even before the draft as it traded Jerrick Balanza and its No. 24 pick to acquire the No. 13 pick that originally belonged to NorthPort.

Left without a first-round pick, Blackwater decided to take the unheralded Rey Mark Acuno from the University of the East at No. 14 – its first selection in the entire draft.

Acuno is a 6-foot-7 big man who is expected to plug the hole in the middle for Blackwater, which lost forwards Mac Belo and Don Trollano and center Maurice Shaw in a series of offseason trades.

Alaska also went for a lesser-known player by using its No. 16 pick on Taylor Browne from the University of British Columbia.

Browne, who is a big guard standing at 6-foot-3, averaged 6.7 points on a 37% clip from deep to go with 3.2 rebounds in his senior season for UBC.

As several players heard their names called earlier than anticipated, some endured the waiting game, most notably spitfire guard RK Ilagan.

Ilagan was pegged as a potential second-round pick after impressing during his final season for the San Sebastian College-Recoletos, but he slid to the third round, with Alaska selecting him at No. 31.

Jun Manzo, despite making a name for himself as the starting guard of the University of the Philippines, also fell in the draft board as Blackwater took him in the fourth round as the No. 38 selection.

The draft proved to be a nerve-racking experience for many, particularly for Jerie Pingoy. (READ: Jerie Pingoy set to come full circle after emotional PBA Draft)

Once one of the most prominent players in the amateur ranks, Pingoy from Adamson University waited for two hours before Phoenix chose him in the fifth round as the 52nd overall pick.

Pingoy broke down in tears immediately after Phoenix star Matthew Wright announced his name.

As the draft wrapped up in the eighth round, a record of 65 players got selected, surpassing the previous mark of 54 drafted players in 2015. – Rappler.com