THE PBA Season 48 Draft concluded with 79 out of the 124 players being picked during the event, an opportunity for teams to improve their roster, and a chance for players to achieve their dreams of making it to the top basketball league in the country. Let’s examine who were the biggest winners in this draft.
PBA Season 48 Rookie Draft big winners
RAIN OR SHINE
The biggest winner of the PBA Draft are arguably the Elasto Painters, who took advantage of their back-to-back picks in the first round by selecting two bigs in UAAP Mythical Five winner Luis Villegas and Keith Datu. Another big in Henry Galinato was also selected by Rain or Shine in the second round but will reportedly be traded to TNT for a future first round pick, securing the Elasto Painters of an added piece for their future. Even down the line, Rain or Shine was also able to get solid picks including Adrian Nocum and Sherwin Concepcion.
PHOENIX
The Fuel Masters were also a winner in the draft, selecting an array of players with different skill sets. Phoenix got arguably the best shooter in the draft in Kenneth Tuffin, a player that can take over the spot left by Matthew Wright a few years ago. Ricci Rivero also fell in its lap at No. 17, while also taking in Raffy Verano, John Lloyd Clemente, and Matthew Daves, all proven winners during their careers before going pro.
NORTHPORT
The Batang Pier picked a total of 11 players in the draft including Zavier Lucero, who also had a stellar career with University of the Philippines. Though still rehabbing from an ACL injury, the 6-foot-6 Lucero is expected to make an impact to the Batang Pier frontline once healthy. NorthPort boosted its frontline further by picking NCAA Rookie of the Year Cade Flores and taking in Bonnie Tan’s players from Letran’s championship teams in Brent Paraiso and Fran Yu.
TERRAFIRMA
By getting the player seen as the most talented of them all in Stephen Holt, Terrafirma is already a winner, but also picked up major pieces that could help them in the future. Taylor Miller is a relatively unknown but has NCAA Division II credentials. Louie Sangalang, a key player in Letran’s championship runs in the NCAA, was also picked by the Dyip in the second round. The Dyip still got a big along the way, as what head coach John Cardel wanted, in Kemark Carino.
SCHONNY WINSTON
Projected by some to be picked early in the first round, Winston went down to No. 9 with Converge. At least for the former La Salle cager, he ended up with a playoff team which could figure prominently with the skill set he has.
DRAFTEES FROM NEW ZEALAND
Fil-New Zealand players went 3-of-3 in the draft led by Tuffin, who was selected by Phoenix. Patrick Maagdenberg was picked by Magnolia. NLEX then went on an intriguing pick by choosing Ritchie Rodger, who like Tuffin was also played in the New Zealand pro league and had stints with the Tall Blacks in the 3x3 and 5-on-5.
FIL-FOREIGN PLAYERS
The PBA became lenient with its requirements on Fil-foreigners for this draft with 31 applying, and adding more talent in this year’s batch. In the first round, all but one player were Fil-foreigners.
PLAYERS WITH HISTORY OF SERIOUS INJURIES
Player injuries didn't had a major effect on the draft. Christian David, who previously had an ACL injury, was selected at No. 2, while the likes of Luis Villegas and Zav Lucero, still rehabbing from their injuries, were still picked high in the draft, and will most likely get a spot in the team after they are fully healthy.
PBA 3x3
For this draft, the PBA 3x3 was successful in its aim to be a platform of players’ dreams to make it to the PBA. Keith Datu played in the 3x3 before being drafted by Rain or Shine, while other players like Dominick Fajardo, Kim Aurin, and Ralph Cu were picked by their own teams in the draft.
KYT JIMENEZ
The online sensation was drafted at No. 76 in the PBA draft by no less than San Miguel, one of the title contenders in the league. Not only was he drafted, he will get a chance to vie for a roster spot with the Beermen and be teammates with his idol Terrence Romeo.
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