ANOTHER member of the De La Salle UAAP men’s basketball champion team is setting his sights at playing in the PBA next.
Francis Escandor has applied for the coming rookie draft set on July 14, joining Green Archers teammate Evan Nelle among those early birds for the annual proceedings.
Escandor was a key player in the Taft-based team's run to the UAAP Season 86 crown, as they bested the University of the Philippines in the best-of-three finals.
Other PBA Draft early birds
Fil-Am DJ Mitchell, also of La Salle, likewise applied for the draft, together with fellow Fil-Am Calvin Payawal from UE.
Mitchell missed out on the Green Archers’ championship season due to a back injury in what would have been a one-and-done stint. He currently plays for Manila in the MPBL.
Payawal, meanwhile, hopes to follow former Red Warriors teammate Luis Villegas (picked No. 3 by Rain or Shine in the last draft) in Asia’s pioneering pro league. He’s presently part of the Valenzuela Classic also in the MPBL.
All three are being represented by EMBM (Espiritu Manotoc Basketball Management).
READ: UAAP champs CJ Cansino, Evan Nelle apply for PBA draft
Others who had submitted their application papers earlier were UP’s CJ Cansino and CJ Catapusan, as well as Ateneo's Paul Garcia.
Sources by SPIN.ph stated that also applying for the draft are La Salle’s Ben Philips, John Uduba of Olivarez College, and Fil-Am Caelan Tiongson, the former Biola University product who once suited up for Alab Pilipinas.
Tiongson, who unretired two years ago to play for the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League, is going to suit up for Strong Group Athletics in the coming Jones Cup in Taiwan.
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