2019 PBA Draft Reactions - The Gilas 5

Gilas 2023
(Photo: ABS CBN Sports)

Here's what we know, based on facts:

The official announcement was posted on PBA.ph on December 5, just three days away from the actual 2019 PBA Draft which up to that point, was really not enjoying any buzz be it on the airwaves or on social media. See, the PBA Draft is the PBA's lifeblood in more ways than one. Not only are teams getting new players, but they are also counting on the new (old) fans of the aforementioned to jump in. As in previous years, you've got established college stars who enjoy massive followings entering the Draft and all of a sudden, their teams enjoy an increase in following. Best case study of course if Chris Tiu of THE Ateneo, who Rain or Shine picked years ago and voila, all of a sudden RoS had a lot of Tiu-pporters up to his last game.

Is that a thing? Tiu-pporters? Or are they really (blasphemously) known as Iglesia ni Chris Tiu?

Anyway, back to the PBA GILAS Draft.

2019 PBA Draft Reactions

The first, first pick? err
(Photo: spin.ph)

Author's note: in the interest of providing all parties concerned with their fair share of exposure and digital space, we are splitting our 2019 PBA Draft reactions: one for the actual draft and another for the special Gilas selection. We have our reservations for sure, on how the whole thing played out, but let's stick to the positives first and celebrate the draftees-- specially the 1st round picks which we will discuss here and how they fit into their respective teams.

This 2019 PBA Draft, 45 of the 67 hopefuls were selected (including the Gilas) in what could easily be coined as one of the more "quiet-er" Drafts. There was a clear lack of household, superstar college names, but what this Draft lacked in starpower it made up for with well-rounded talent that went up to the 3rd and 4th rounds. It also wouldn't be much of a surprise if the first rounders (and a few second ones) soon start making waves in the pros despite going under-the-radar.

Also, how's this for another sample for the "Junemar Effect:" 8 of the 12 1st round picks are all frontliners (SF/PF/C). Pretty obvious that teams are going for size moving forward.

1. Columbian - Roosevelt Adams, SG
Glad to see this one working out from our Mock Draft. It's going to be nice to see just how good Adams is, as we've seen flashes during his stint with Go-for-Gold and Mighty Sports. At 6"5, he's already bigger than most of the competition at SF, and with his range, would be a great running buddy to incoming star sophomore CJ Perez.
Draft day grade: A

2. Blackwater - Maurice Shaw, C
If our boy James Velasquez doesn't step up the first time he covers a BW game with Shaw in tow and calls him "The Big Shaw" (akin to the WWE star), we'd be very disappointed. Shaw is a grizzled veteran big man who has been putting up great numbers versus East Asian competition, but he's also been injured here and there and is already at 34-35 years of age. Silver lining is, he's going to allow BW to go REALLY big with him at center, Mac Belo at 3 and Carl Bryan Cruz at 4.
Draft day grade: A

PBA GovCup SF: Ginebra vs Northport

At this point, I'm just surprised that The Dean
hasn't given him a moniker yet.
(Photo credit: Sports.inquirer.net)

Talk about Never-say-die.

On one hand we've got the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, a powerhouse team on paper that continues to live up (or down, depending on which Kabarangay you're asking) to its glorious reputation. The team finished the PBA Governor's Cup as the 4th seed, starting a bit slow before turning it up in its last few games. On the other, you've got the Northport Batang Pier which was arguably on its way to packing its bags this conference following the injury to prized rookie point guard Robert Bolick before somehow landing national skipper Christian Standhinger (and prior to that, the trade that sent its other star guard-- Stanley Pringle to, well, Ginebra).

So we know what we're going to get with Ginebra. The offense runs through super import Justin Brownlee, and whenever he's around (like Meralco and Allen Durham), every thing just falls into place. Only, it was pretty obvious that they had a bit of a rough patch in trying to balance out the offense between Brownlee and Pringle. After those two guys, there's Japeth Aguilar, L.A. Tenorio, and a bit of Scottie Thompson.