THE PBA board of governors has officially approved the holding of a special draft for 2021.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said SBP officials and Gilas Pilipinas coaches will now be studying on who to pick from the 97 players who applied for the March 14 rookie draft.
“Definitely, we will have a Gilas draft this year. Give us a few days to finalize that and we will submit it to the PBA for their consideration. After that, we will come up with our own announcement,” said Panlilio following the board of governors meeting on Thursday.
A special draft will be held for the second straight time as part of the PBA’s support to the national team program particularly to the country’s hosting and participation in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
Players selected will be on loan to Gilas but their mother teams will keep their rights.
In 2019, Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi, and Mike Nieto were selected by Columbian, Blackwater, NLEX, Alaska, and Rain or Shine, respectively, in the special draft. They are still on loan to Gilas at this time.
Panlilio said the Gilas coaching staff has yet to select the players for the special draft, although some of the applicants are already part of the pool now in Calamba preparing for the February window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
“There is no definitive list yet. But obviously, people who are there, I’m sure they’ve thought about putting them in the pool… Parang nandoon na sila so most probably they will be part of the pool,” Panlilio said.
NCAA MVP Calvin Oftana, William Navarro, and Jaydee Tungcab are among the players who are part of the February window pool who also applied for the draft this year.
“It’s good that they are applying for the draft because that’s part of the agreement with the PBA. The PBA is always supportive to the SBP program,” said Panlilio.
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.
