GEO Chiu applied for the PBA Season 50 Draft at the last minute, but Kobe Paras and other blue-chip prospects stayed away at the end of office hours on Friday.
Chiu submitted his application on Friday just before the close of office hours, making him one of the tallest in a draft that was also left without Fil-Am CJ Lane and Quentin Millora-Brown.
The total reached 128 at the end of the deadline, but the number is expected to be pruned down after the Draft Combine at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on September 4 and 5.
READ PBA draft pool about to get bigger as Geo Chiu looks to make jump
The 6-11 Chiu now joins veteran internationalist Juan Gomez de Liano, former Gilas Youth guard Dalph Panopio, Jason Brickman, LJ Gonzales, and Will Gozum as the top prospects in the September 7 draft at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
With size at a premium in the league dominated by eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, Chiu is expected to be a strong candidate for the No. 1 pick in the Season 50 Draft owned by Terrafirma.
The former Ateneo center was once part of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in 2018 and the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2019.
Chiu also saw action for the Gilas Pilipinas seniors team under Tab Baldwin in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2021, and under Chot Reyes in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian qualifiers.
Lane, a 6-foot-10 player out of Eastern Illinois, didn’t file his application even though he is in the country and playing for the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters in the MPBL.
Paras was also a no-show, dampening the hope of fans who anticipated his comeback from a personal hiatus after being seen in short training videos on his social media accounts.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
