CHICAGO - Unless you have the memory of an elephant, it's hard to keep track of which PBA player went where in the days after the Season 49 Rookie Draft.
After the dust settles, whenever that is, one thing remains crystal clear: Barangay Ginebra was the biggest winner.
Converge got Justine Batazar at No. 1, but he ain't playing until the end of the MPBL season. Sedrick Barefield went to Blackwater at No. 2, but if you think he'll be there long, you're either dumb or naive.
The Gin Kings? They immediately got younger and better.
Which is funny because, as perennial title contenders, the crowd darlings didn't even have a high pick in the first place. And yet, somehow, coach Tim Cone was able to cherry-pick top talents via a trade with Terrafirma.
READ: No. 3 pick RJ Abarrientos completes Ginebra haul from Terrafirma trade
Besides acquiring young guns Stephen Holt and Isaac Go for two All-Stars with a combined age of 72 - C-Stan and Stanley Pringle - Ginebra also got the Dyip's No. 3 pick (in exchange for its original No. 10) and promptly turned it into RJ Abarrientos.
THE STUDY GROUP FLUNKED.
Supposedly teeming with wisdom as its name suggests, the PBA Study Group only looks like a bunch of apathetic dudes enabling what fans believe was an unfair swap.
The draft is designed to attain parity of competition by allowing less performing teams access to fresh, young talents from the college ranks and much more.
That's why the FibrXers, who finished 3-19 in the last two conferences, got to pick first amid accusations of tanking. That's why the Bossing, who turned in a 5-17 card in the same span, picked second. That's why the Dyip picked third.
The Gin Kings had no business picking third overall after making the semifinals in both the Commissioner's Cup and the Philippine Cup.
This is arrogance. This is a slap on the face of parity.
CATCH AND RELEASE.
Guard rails can be implemented to ensure only bad teams get good picks, but how do you legislate against the 'generosity' of poor teams that willingly funnel their gems to the rich squads?
This is where a tough, fair-minded Commissioner's Office is desperately needed. Unfortunately, Kume Marcial is too nice of a guy. He is a sheep in wolf's clothing. PBA fans, including myself, wished it were the other way around.
I didn't watch the PBA Draft. I was in Las Vegas for the Team USA Showcase and the NBA Summer League. But I did ogle on some of the photos of the proceedings. And it made me wanna puke.
The vision of Terrafirma and Blackwater officials smiling with their picks had the feel of a dog and pony show. Given both the Dyip and Bossings' history, there's a huge chance they'll give away those assets.
Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Roosevelt Adams, Jeremiah Gray, and Holt are just a few of the many jewels that have come and gone from Terrafirma and Blackwater.
Holt, in fact, is the third No. 1 draftee that Terrafirma has given up since 2018 after Perez (to SMB) and Munzon (NorthPort). That doesn't even include Christian Standhardinger, who San Miguel picked No. 1 in 2017 with rights it acquired from the Dyip in a controversial pre-draft trade.
READ: Johnedel Cardel upbeat on Dyip’s chances after blockbuster trade
Which is why I am now reluctant to criticize Jeff Cariaso and Johnedel Cardel because they seem to be set up only for failure.
Meanwhile, like a hungry bear lying in ambush on a river of migrating salmon, Ginebra keeps on eating.
And winning.
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