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    Pro 3x3 stalwarts likely to beg off from next year's PBA draft

    Chooks 3x3 stalwarts holding off PBA draft plans again
    Oct 6, 2020

    CHANCES are stalwarts from Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 will still opt out of joining in the next PBA Rookie Draft.

    There's a high possibility that the five players who begged off from last year's draft procceedings will do the same for the next one, which is earmarked for January next year.

    Reasons remain the same: with players in the 3x3 circuit committed on helping boost the Philippines' chances in the Fiba 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament to book one of the three tickets to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next year.

    That means that players, namely Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike, Santi Santillan, and Franky Johnson, won't be present in the aspirants' list, putting a dent on what is shaping up to be another intriguing class.

    And what a loss they are.

    Munzon, 25, is the top-ranked 3x3 player in the country and is the 105th-best in the world. The 6-foot-4 Fil-Am guard has long been considered as one of the best players in the amateur ranks, with him impressing in both his runs for Saigon Heat and Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), and sustaining that groove in the PBA D-League in his brief run with AMA Online Education.

    Pasaol, also 25, has been a proven super scorer way back in his time in University of the East. That's why it's no surprise that after he parted ways with the Red Warriors, the 6-foot-4 banger has lit it up whenever he went, from Marinerong Pilipino in the PBA D-League, Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), to the 3x3 circuit where he is ranked no. 2 in the Philippines and world no. 148.

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    Munzon and Pasaol, of course, are part of the Gilas Men's 3x3 team, together with Terrafirma's CJ Perez and San Miguel's Mo Tautuaa as they brace for the OQT slated on May 2021 in Graz, Austria.

    Rike, 25, meanwhile, poses an intriguing option for teams up front with his 6-foot-8 height, and has been a solid performer in his lone UAAP season with National University. He played briefly with Munzon in AMA in the PBA D-League, before largely roaming in the 3x3 scene where he is the no. 5-ranked player in the Philippines.

    Santillan, 24, is also another tough-as-nails prospect from University of the Visayas and La Salle who has been stupendous in his stints with Marinerong Pilipino and Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines. The 6-foot-5 bruiser is currently ranked 6th-best 3x3 player in the Philippines.

    And lastly, the 26-year-old Johnson is a 6-foot-2 Fil-Am who has showcased his worth in the PBA D-League, both for Marinerong Pilipino and AMA. The shifty guard is ranked 8th in the country.

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      The first four are teammates for Zamboanga in the upcoming President's Cup, presented by TM, while Johnson will lead the charge for Gapan Chooks, together with Philippines no. 4 Karl Dehesa, no. 7 Chris de Chavez, and veteran guard Chico Lanete.

      Big losses will these five be if they indeed decide to beg off anew for these draft proceedings, but it also opens up the opportunity for the other rookie hopefuls as they seek to make the jump to the pros next year.
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