ASIDE from getting the No. 4 pick in the regular draft, TNT has also secured the fourth selection in the special draft this Sunday, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed on Friday.
The Tropang GIGA on Thursday completed a trade in which they were able to move up and acquire NLEX’s fourth pick in the draft, putting them in position to obtain a blue-chip player.
Because of the deal, TNT has also secured a place in the special draft, essentially another piece for the future, in which the players picked will be on loan to Gilas Pilipinas for the time being.
The draft order follows that of the regular draft in which rankings and previous transactions take effect. Such was the case of NLEX, whose No. 3 pick was from the Poy Erram trade with Blackwater prior to the 2020 season.
William Navarro, JD Tungcab, Jordan Heading, and Tzaddy Rangel will be picked by the teams in the special draft based on the same order as the special draft.
A similar case occurred in 2019 when Rain or Shine was able to select at No. 5 in the special draft, even though that pick was originally owned by Phoenix Pulse, then shifted to Alaska as part of the Calvin Abueva trade in 2018.
The Aces, in turn, made that pick a part of a deal in order to acquire Maverick Ahanmisi from the Elastopainters.
Isaac Go (Columbian), Rey Suerte (Blackwater), Matt Nieto (NLEX), Allyn Bulanadi (Alaska), and Mike Nieto (Rain or Shine) were picked in the 2019 special draft.
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