Our 2017 PBA Mock Draft
by rick olivares
This should be called the alpha
dog draft. Look at the studs – Christian Standhardinger, Kiefer Ravena, and
Jeron Teng. There’s a lot. Here are our picks for the first round of the annual
PBA Rookie Draft that will be held this Sunday at the Robinson’s Malate.
1st Pick: KIA Picanto - Christian Standhardinger
Yes, it seems like a no-brainer
that Fil-German Christian Standhardinger will be selected as the number one
overall pick by Kia Picanto. It seems like a travesty that they will even trade
him. If you cannot compete then get out.
They lack depth at the center
position. Outside their import, they have Jason Ballesteros and Jason Deutchman
patrolling that position. That is not going to strike fear in the hearts of the
opposition.
If you want to compete in the
PBA, you must be able to match up with the frontlines of San Miguel Beer and
Barangay Ginebra that have won the conference titles in the past two years.
Look at that front line – June
Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos for SMB, and Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, and
Joe Devance for Barangay Ginebra.
You want to compete? You must
have some of the best players at their respective positions.
What I like about Standhardinger
is he does not need a play called for him to be effective. He is like a 6’8
version of Freddie Abuda except he has an outside shot. Let’s clarify that –
from inside the paint, medium range, and long range. Furthermore, he runs the
break and finishes it! He scavenges for loose balls and rebounds. He passes the
ball. Defends. And is a team player. What is not to like?
But the question at this point is
– does Kia even want him on their team?
2nd Pick: NLEX Road Warriors - Kiefer Ravena (Ateneo)
Having watched Kiefer play for
the past 13 years (since he first donned the Ateneo jersey and all the way to
his national team stints), as impossible as it sounds, he has gotten better.
Yeah, I know, right? He’s already darn good.
How did that happen? When he got
cut from Gilas right before the Olympic Qualifying tournament. He has elevated
his game.
Watching him the FIBA 3x3 World
Championships, he made the Philippine team go. He was the only one playing
consistently on both ends of the court. He did the same during his national
team stints.
You need winners on your squad if
you want to win and Kiefer is the ultimate winner having won five UAAP titles
(in both the juniors and seniors divisions), four Sea Games gold medals. If you
look at Yeng Guiao’s Road Warriors – he has some winners in Alex Mallari, Larry
Fonacier, JR Quinahan, Juami Tiongson, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Asi Taulava, and
Alas. So he’s building the championship quotient of his team.
Now Kief, he can play an uptempo
game or a half court set. He will make his teammates better. Plus, he is
clutch. I think Kiefer’s presence in BNLEX will make Kevin alas a better
player.
3rd Pick: BlackWater Elite - Jeron Teng (La Salle)
Meet the new Big J. The new
barreling Big J! Jeron Teng nails threes. Drives even against tall players.
While playing for Flying V in a tune-up match against his former college team,
La Salle, he went straight at Ben Mbala. Who said Jeron was afraid to drive
into the lane never saw him play.
I know he was/is good. You do not
score a 100-plus points in high school and not be good. You do not win a couple
of UAAP championships and not be good. It was only when he played for Flying V
in the past D-League conference that I saw how good Teng truly is. On any given
day, he made his team better and gave the Thunder a chance to win. It sure
helped that he had another couple of players whose sheer will to win towed them
to the semi-finals (Eric Salamat and Thomas Torres). His will to win is
incredible. He plays in pain and is a leader. Plus, he is clutch.
He can be a point forward. If you
never saw him play for Xavier then know that he played the point guard position
for the Golden Stallions! Point guard! Then he shifted to the two and three
spots in college.
Teng is a physical specimen. He
will give BlackWater some depth in a team that has the rapidly improving JP
Erram, Mac Belo, and Allein Maliksi. Studs in the three front court positions.
4th Pick: Phoenix Fuel Masters - Lervin Flores (Arellano
University)
Hey, how’d he get here? Lervin
could be this draft’s version of JP Erram. Flores’ first year with Arellano
University two seasons ago, he was a stud. One who gamely battled the best
centers in the land—Africans included. He showed no fear. He even dunked once
on Ben Mbala. This season, he seemed to have been off. But so were the Chiefs.
Phoenix needs a big man. They
have a lot of scorers but they need someone who will make the top flight
centers in the league work harder. Lervin can rebound, score inside, has an
array of moves in and around the basket. He is a rim protector too.
You just need to make sure his
head is screwed on right. With a coach like Louie Alas, he will learn the finer
points of defense. And of course, will have his head screwed on right.
5th Pick: GlobalPort Batang Pier - Jason Perkins (La Salle)
When drafting for this team, the
question you should answer if how do you play off Stanley Pringle and Terrence
Romeo? Especially the latter who demands the ball. They’ve got a couple of guys
who do not need the ball to be effective in Sean Anthony and Bradwyn Guinto.
Perkins though needs the rock to be effective. He can post up, shoot from
medium range, and even pass the ball. My concern though is he is too small to
play the four spot since Jason stands at 6’3” (my thought is how do you match
up against the Arwind Santoses, Japeth Aguilars, and Marc Pingrises?). He was
called the “Hefty Lefty” while playing for La Salle. In the pros, he might have
to reinvent himself as the “Crafty Lefty” as he slides down from the four to
the three.
6th Pick: Alaska Aces - Rey Nambatac (Letran)
This workhorse of a team could
use another dynamite workhorse two-way player. Rey will take over Dondon
Hontiveros’ shooting slot. What makes him a tantalizing pick is he rebounds
well, attacks the basket (Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel will love playing
alongside this tough guy), and finds open teammates. Plus, he’s got an
excellent attitude.
They are going to need everyone
to work doubly hard because their championship window shut close last season.
7th Pick: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters - Thomas Torres (La
Salle)
This team has the centers and
forwards, the scoring forwards and two guards. What they need is a point guard
who understands playing with a bunch of alpha males. That’s Tommy. He played
alongside Jeron Teng, Jason Perkins, and Ben Mbala in La Salle. With Flying V,
he deferred once more to Teng, Eric Salamat, and Gab Banal. But his
contributions were tremendous. If there is one thing I like it is his
basketball IQ and will to win. Don’t be worried about his height, Tommy always
plays bigger than that.
8th Pick: Star Hotshots - Raymar Jose (FEU)
Will add a lot of ceiling and
post play to this team as Marc Pingris winds down his splendid career.
Excellent attitude as well. Doesn’t need plays called for him too.
9th Pick: TNT Ka Tropa - Davon Potts (San Beda)
Perfect for the dribble drive
offense of TNT and Nash Racela. Plays at an incredibly fast-pace that Jayson
Castro will love. Can slash inside and shoot on a dime. Plays D too.
10th Pick: San Miguel Beermen - Sidney Onwubere (Emilio
Aguinaldo College)
The Beermen know that they need
relief for June Mar Fajardo, hence, their attempt to trade for Standhardinger. Unfortunately,
the draft is lean for these types of players. Should the proposed trade with
KIA be vetoed, they could get Kevin Gabayni. He could help although I find him
slow and somewhat has an attitude. They might want to get a do-it-all player in
the 6’4” Sidney Onwubere who rebounds, shoots, passes, and defends. His game
has really expanded in the past two years in college.
With a talent-laden SMB team, how
do you break in someone like Sid? You have to play him and give him a chance to
get his confidence going. If he does, watch out.
11th Pick: Meralco Bolts - Arvie Bringas (FEU)
The Bolts need to get taller and
more consistent inside. Their success in the past two seasons has been due to
imports filling that glaring vacancy inside. They will miss out on the
Standhardingers and Joses, but Arvie Bringas isn’t so bad. He can post-up,
rebound, and score. If we go by his college game, he was a smart player too.
Now, how he has changed his game since then remains to be seen. It helps that
his older brother Mark is with the Bolts already.
12th Pick: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel - Jett Manuel (UP)
Made the most out of his recent
stint on the international stage especially in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. Can
play the off guard position with some of Ginebras older players probably on the
way out. Along with Kevin Ferrer, Jett will bust open that zone for their
talented bigs. He will find the spaces they create open to his liking.
Give all the useless trophies to SMC and company...
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