AT around this time every year, you come across a name you haven't heard before suddenly appear on the PBA rookie draft list. It was famously or infamously 32-year old Erwin Estole in the 2014 draft, car dealer Christian Geronimo in 2017, and Kobe Caluya, 43, trying his luck in the annual rite of passage for rookies back in 2016.
None of them ever heard their name called; all they got was their 15 minutes of fame.
This year, it's the turn of Shem Kenneth Magallanes, a 26-year old baller from Caloocan who never played college ball and dished off his best basketball as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) based in Riyadh before deciding to join the next PBA Rookie Draft, set to be held, most likely virtually, on March 14.
Magallanes is under no illusion that getting his name called in the PBA draft will be easy, but that won't stop him from dreaming.
Like all draft unknowns before him, the former high school varsity player at Caybiga High School in Caloocan is holding out hope of getting drafted by a PBA team, even if the odds are close to hitting the neighborhood jueteng numbers.
"Pangarap ng bawat player na makatuntong doon. So ngayon na nandito na, bakit hindi?" he told SPIN.ph writer Randolph Leongson.
So does he stand a chance of at least getting drafted?
Yeng Guiao has seen his share of draft longshots in more than three decades of coaching with Swift, Pepsi, Air21/ Burger City, Red Bull, Rain or Shine and NLEX. The veteran coach said he's not quick to pass judgements on these players, but admitted that he can be frank for the player's own good.
"I will not brush him off right away," Guiao said when asked about chances of Magallanes getting drafted by NLEX or any other PBA team come March 14. "Who knows? Baka may ibubuga pala. But the only time I can make a fair judgement on him is once I've seen him play."
"You know, I like people like them [who pursue their dreams]. But I also hope they are rooted in reality."
Every now and then, you hear success stories of draft longshots, like seventh-rounder Alvin Abundo landing a roster spot at Magnolia or PJ Simon becoming one of the most successful players in the Purefoods franchise's long history despite being a fifth-round pick (at No. 43 overall) in the 2001 draft.
But there's no greater underdog draft story than Ato Agustin's. The 'Atom Bomb' of Pampanga remains the only second-round draft pick to win the MVP award - a feat he pulled off in 1992, just three years after being picked No. 12 overall by Norman Black for San Miguel from the stacked 1989 rookie class.
Phenomenal as Agustin's rise was, it was no accident.
According to Black, San Miguel already had its sights set on the mop-haired, 5-foot-10 gunner from Pampanga long before the draft after seeing Agustin play with his PABL team Hope in an exhibition game against the Beermen.
"He killed us," Black said laughing.
Black added SMB would've taken Agustin in the first round but badly needed size in the wings so had to go with Bobby Jose.
Agustin may be a gambit that paid off handsomely, but Black said he is not the type of coach who tends to take major gambles in the draft. Part of the reason the multi-titled coach avoids doing that is because he isn't fond of giving players the ax - and absolutely hates giving hope where there is none.
"I hate telling players [that they're out of the team]," said Black. "I think that's the worst part of the job for a coach."
Guiao is more inclined to look for diamonds in the rough among players, both from the free-agent ranks and the rookie pool. But he, too, can't recall ever making a gamble as far out as drafting someone on a pure hunch or a wild guess.
"If you're a coach, you see a player in action one of two times, alam mo na if he's PBA material or not," said the NLEX coach. So in situations like that, "the best you can do really is judge the player based on his abilities."
In the case of Magallanes, it doesn't help that the annual PBA Draft Combine, which could be his only chance to show coaches and scouts what he can do, is likely out of the equation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So any coach wishing to selection him can only take Magallanes' word that he's worth a draft shot.
Guiao has one rule of thumb when dealing with such draft longshots.
"I won't discourage them from trying," said the veteran coach, "but I will also tell them the truth."
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