THE PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup will see a bulk of rookies making their debuts after wrapping up their contractual obligations in the MPBL.
Among them will be No. 1 overall pick Justine Baltazar, who will finally take the PBA court after the conclusion of the MPBL finals in December.
Another rookie in Jordan Heading, on the other hand, has already made his PBA entry after all his years overseas. He, incidentally, will team up with Baltazar soon.
As a new set of rookies comes into the league, let’s recap the best-performing rookies so far on the heels of the season-opening Governors’ Cup.
Paolo Hernandez, Terrafirma
Though playing for a Terrafirma team that only won one game, Hernandez’s play resonated, as he averaged 9.7 points and nailed a second-best 14 threes in the Governors’ Cup.
There were even times during that conference that Hernandez was given the ball in crucial stretches of the game. Not bad for the former Mapua stalwart who was picked late in the second round at No. 22 overall.
CJ Cansino, Meralco
The former University of the Philippines gunner earned a spot in the rotation of playoff contender Meralco with his consistent play.
Cansino, the No. 11 selection had 8.91 points and 3.36 rebounds, with his conference only cut short due to an injury that forced him to miss all but one game in their quarterfinal series against Barangay Ginebra.
Felix Lemetti, Rain or Shine
Rain or Shine’s No. 8 selection wasted no time being touted as the steal of the draft after quite a first impression, particularly in the elimination round.
Though the Fil-Swedish’s numbers slipped during the playoffs, Lemetti proved that he can be an offensive weapon, winding up with respectable numbers of 8.65 points and making a team-best 36 threes during the conference.
Sedrick Barefield, Blackwater
The No. 2 pick draft lived up to his billing after accumulating 18.9 points and 4.2 assists, all league-highs for rookies. Barefield was also clutch, as proven by his dagger shot in Blackwater's thrilling first round triumph over crowd favorite Ginebra.
Import George King even went on to say that the Fil-American guard is as good as other reinforcements in the league.
RJ Abarrientos, Ginebra
Abarrientos is the only first-rounder who reached the finals, and his impact in Ginebra’s run cannot be denied. The No. 3 pick was second among rookies in scoring with 12.76 points, while also recording 3.04 assists and 2.64 rebounds for the Gin Kings.
Abarrientos even nearly brought the championship series against TNT to a seventh game when he finished with 31 points, until Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Jayson Castro took over in the crucial moments of the pivotal match.
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