RJ Abarrientos, Dave Ildefonso, and Caelan Tiongson are going to skip this Sunday’s PBA Rookie Draft.
The three will be leaving for Taipei with Strong Group Athletics for the 2024 Jones Cup and won’t be around when Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league holds its draft for Season 49.
The Jones Cup is set to kick off on Friday, with Strong Group opening hostilities against United Arab Emirates at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Abarrientos, Ildefonso, and Tiongson have been projected as first round picks out of the 70 players that applied for this year’s proceedings at the Glorietta in Makati.
Scheduling conflicts for PBA Draft Combine, too
As it is, the three skipped the early part of Day 1 of the Draft Combine Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig as Strong Group held a tune up game against Magnolia.
But they’re scheduled to show up at the venue late in the afternoon to have their anthrometrics taken where their height, weight, reach, wingspan, length, among others were measured.
The league also gave its permission for them not to participate in the 5-on-5 games in order to avoid suffering any injuries.
All three are fresh from playing overseas before deciding to join this year’s draft.
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