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| The first, first pick? err (Photo: spin.ph) |
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
3. NLEX - Mike Ayonayon, PG
While we didn't really have Ayonayon high up on this list, the pick is trademark Guiao-- a relatively unknown player who plays with a lot of spunk and heart. Only, Ayonayon is arguably one of the better scorers in the Draft after Rey Suerte and Allyn Bulanadi who were recruited into the Gilas pool. The former MPBL Finals MVP is going to have his work cut out for him however, as he'll need to dislodge anyone from: Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Philip Paniamogan, Larry Fonacier, Cyrus Baguio, Eman Monfort (injured) and whoever. That's a boat load of A-list guards to go up against.
Draft day grade: B
4. Alaska - Barkley Ebona, PF
Looks like Coach Jeffrey Cariaso is bent on building an athletic, tall and mobile Aces team with the entry of 6"5 big man Ebona who is just as rugged as former Ace Carl Bryan Cruz, minus the penchant for veering away from the paint.
Draft day grade: B
5. Rain or Shine - Adrian Wong, PG
Personally, we love Wong's game and felt that he was the 'odd man out' in Ateneo's structured offense. Almost like he sacrificed his offense for the better good of the team (which obviously worked). At RoS, he'll get an opportunity to show his wares as a slasher and hopefully form a formidable backcourt rotation with resident stars Rey Nambatac and Ed Daquiaog.
Draft day grade: B
6. Rain or Shine - Clint Doliguez, SF
While the Wong pick was unsurprising, Doliguez coming in right after him was a bit of a head-scratcher. RoS' now appears to have one too many young guards all with a knack for scoring, and if you're moving him to his natural position, there's his senior Javee Mocon (and vet Gabe Norwood).
Draft day grade: B
7. Rain or Shine - Prince Rivero, PF
He'll have to learn to play the wing post moving forward, as Rivero is a bit too small for a PBA power forward. Still, this is another great opportunity for him to learn from another heavyweight-- Beau Belga, while the RoS system also allows all of its players to shine given their ever-changing rotation and minutes. Skills-wise, he can learn a lot from veteran Mark Borboran.
Draft day grade: B
8. Northport - Sean Manganti, SF
We had Manganti going higher, like, Alaska higher, but that obviously didn't push through. The next shocker of course, was why RoS didn't bring this wiry small forward in, who has great size, good handles and decent range to be Gabe Norwood's protege. Well, we'll probably never know but it's good to see him going to Northport where he can learn behind Kevin Ferrer and Sean Anthony.
Draft day grade: B
9. Magnolia - Aris Dionisio, PF
Again, another surprise pick. Dionisio is a great defender (Arwind Santos-ish, minus the 3-point jacking/ shooting) who can be groomed into Marc Pingris' successor as the Hotshots' defensive lynchpin. Under-rated, needs to work on his shooting and handles, and a little weight won't hurt his stock.
Draft day grade: A
10. Ginebra - Arvin Tolentino, PF
We love Arvin and expected much of him. He has the range, he makes jumpshots look so effortless. But well, we haven't see him with that fire or hustle that you'd want from young stars looking to make a name for themselves-- something that was supposedly what he or his camp wanted to do when they left Ateneo for FEU. But he kind of sleepwalked at FEU. Then in the MPBL. And well, hope his PBA run is better. Ceiling's Kerby Raymundo-lite. Right now, he's Mark Borboran. The PBA version not the UE one.
Draft day grade: B
11. TNT - Kib Montalbo, PG
The MVP camp can't seem to keep itself from picking DLSU guards huh? A decade or so ago, they had Ren Ren Ritualo and Mac Cardona. In 2020, they'll be having Almond Vosotros and Kib Montalbo (okay, the comparison was pretty bad, with only the DLSU thing as common ground since the first two were legitimate stars while the latter are, well, uh). Montalbo would be a great addition to an otherwise thin TNT point guard rotation.
Draft day grade: B
12. Columbian - Christian Balagasay, C
They need warm bodies, and Balagasay is one of the more battle-ready ones. Imagine if they held on to... and paired him with... and.... sigh.
Draft day grade: B
Special mentions: Aaron Black will be a sleeper contributor for Meralco, great running buddy/ sub for Chris Newsome. Hoping that Renzo Subido is able to make a name for himself in the pros, it's not like Northport has anyone bigger at the moment playing point (Sol Mercado's somehow glued to the bench) so that leaves them with Nico Elorde. Valandre Chauca is also a sleeper, we're not surprised that he wasn't picked earlier though. A bit of an unknown, played for Adamson, impressed here and there but not enough. Which is big considering Franz Pumaren loves big guards so he should've been able to showcase something.
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