IN any draft class across all pro sports, there’ll always be big names and projected first-rounders.
But then comes the fun part that keeps everyone on their toes come draft night: the biggest steals.
READ: PVL rookie salaries range from P150,000 for No. 1 pick to P50,000 minimum
There’s more than a few head-turners who left quite an impression during the two-day Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Rookie Draft Combine — a showcase of scrimmages and skill tests featuring all 47 draft aspirants and 11 free agents.
Come draft night on July 8, don’t sleep on a handful of these rising stars whose names could pop up earlier than one might expect.
ALEIAH TORRES (Brock)
Although little was known at first about the draft's two Fil-foreign prospects, they let their game do the talking in the combine.
Aleiah Torres, a three-time Canadian Athletic Association champion libero with Brock University, flexed her title-winning pedigree off the bat with impressive numbers across the board.
Tracing her roots to Cavite and Tarlac, Torres topped the one-minute push-up test with 50 repetitions and modified agility T-test with a final time of 5.98 seconds, while ranking third in the standing broad jump (232 cm) and fourth in the shuttle run (14.59 seconds).
She also had the eighth-highest standing vertical jump at 61.67 cm.
An international championship-caliber player like Torres may very well be an instant asset for teams in the hunt for a skillful floor general.
PIERRE ABELLANA (UST)
For the University of Santo Tomas faithful, Pierre Abellana is more than just a second stringer as she became an integral option on offense for the Growling Tigresses.
The 5-foot-5 outside hitter and bonafide academic achiever dazzled in the draft combine’s opening-day skill tests — and it wasn’t just because she was the lone UST ace from their runner-up UAAP Season 86 roster to shoot her shot at the pros.
Her speed, strength, and high-leaping abilities were all let out the cage, as she ranked second overall in the 60 m shuttle run (14.35 seconds), third in the standing vertical jump (63.5 cm), and fourth in the one-minute push-ups (43 repetitions).
Abellana also landed seventh in the standing broad jump (222 cm), eighth in the modified agility T-test (6.5 seconds), and 11th in the vertical jump with approach (299 cm).
A wise high-flyer who’s no stranger to big games and stages is a prospect teams should definitely keep their eyes on.
RAZEL ALDEA (Perpetual)
Come draft night, don’t count out the NCAA’s vast pool of talent.
And standing out in the list of NCAA-based PVL aspirants is Perpetual’s outgoing team captain and 5-foot-7 middle blocker Razel Aldea, following an impressive showcase of leaping ability — a gem of a gift to have for any net defender.
Aldea topped the standing broad jump test at 257 cm, nine ticks higher than the second-best result by La Salle skipper Julia Coronel at 248 cm. She’d finish second to Coronel, however, in the standing vertical jump test (64.95 cm) by roughly six ticks.
The Lady Altas senior landed seventh in the vertical jump with approach (302 cm), 13th in the one-minute pushups (36 repetitions), and 16th in both modified agility T-test (6.77 seconds) and 60-meter shuttle run (15.22 seconds).
In a league filled with some of the country’s hardest hitters, a reliable two-way fortress at the net will be of the essence for any PVL team.
ANGGE ALCANTARA (Adamson)
This Lady Falcon is ready to soar high in the PVL with a standout string of numbers to rest her case.
Adamson’s go-to playmaker Angge Alcantara is part of the San Marcelino side’s six-player contingent in the inaugural draft, and made quite the mark for herself in the combine.
Alcantara set the pace in the 60 m shuttle run with the best recorded time of 14.01 seconds and was well within the top 10 in five of six skill tests.
The 5-foot-4 setter finished fourth in the standing broad jump (224 cm), fifth in the standing vertical jump (62.23 cm), seventh in the modified agility T-test (6.38 seconds), and eighth in one-minute push-ups (41 repetitions).
Activating spikers and blockers to a tee is what Alcantara has in store, should a PVL team in need of a stable playmaker secure her services on draft night.
NATHALI RAMACULA (Red River)
Nathali Ramacula has made a strong case thus far to improve her chances in her second shot at Philippine volleyball.
As the pandemic, among other factors, barred her supposed-to-be UAAP stint with University of the East, the Fil-Canadian ace rode the newest pipeline to the pros by applying to the PVL Draft.
Having been recruited by veteran Petro Gazz setter Chie Saet back in the day, the 5-foot-1 libero-setter showcased her speed and strength in the combine with the third-best time in the modified agility T-test (6.38 seconds), fourth in the standing vertical jump (62.81 cm), fifth in the 60-meter shuttle run (14.72 seconds), and ninth in the one-minute push-ups (40 repetitions).
All these numbers were actually produced by a jet-lagged Ramacula, who made the trip from Canada to Manila less than a day before the combine.
The former Red River College Polytechnic ace, among 47 hopefuls, is one to look out for when the 12 teams cast their picks in the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft on July 8, 7 p.m. at Novotel Manila Araneta City.
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