A MEMBER of the NCAA Mythical Five last season, Ato Barba, was surprisingly left unpicked during the PBA Season 50 Draft.
Barba was not part of the 77 players drafted during Sunday’s proceedings despite credentials that include being part of the Mythical Five in NCAA Season 100 alongside MVP Allen Liwag of College of St. Benilde, Clint Escamis of Mapua, and Tristan Felebrico of San Sebastian.
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Also in that Mythical Five was Tony Ynot of College of St. Benilde, who was drafted in the third round at No. 32 overall by Converge at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
In a post on Facebook, Barba, who was the NCAA juniors MVP in 2019, said being left undrafted won’t stop him from continue to work hard.
“Sa lahat po ng nakasubaybay sa akin simula una at sa mga taong naniniwala po sakin, maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Hindi ko na po kayo maisa isa pero sobrang thank you po sa inyo.
“Hindi man po pinalad pero babangon pa din po,” said Barba.
By being drafted, Barba automatically becomes a free agent and can sign to any PBA team.
The 25-year-old Barba was the second leading scorer last NCAA season with 17.61 points, while also chipping 5.83 rebounds, 2.89 assists, and 1.22 steals for the Pirates. And even though he still has one playing year left with LPU, he admitted the Mythical Five selection convinced him to apply for the draft.
“Siyempre, nakapag-breakout season po ako last season, naging part ako ng Mythical Five. Parang doon ko na-boost ‘yung confidence ko na umangat sa pro,” said Barba in an interview with SPIN.ph during the PBA Draft Combine.
“PBA draft, nagdodoble effort po ako. At the same time, malapit na rin po ‘yung season namin sa NCAA. Nagpapalakas po ako ng katawan, ini-improve ko ‘yung shooting ko at decision-making ability ko,” said Barba.
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