Weh! sorry! Wrong move.
Question: How can I edit this to be more... eye-friendly?
It seems like yesterday when these guys applied in the PBA with so much hype. What happened to them? Here’s a take on what their rookie season was like.
Why am I doing this? Simple really… who will be the consensus rookie of the year?
Game starts now.
THE UNDRAFTED PLAYERS
The 2007-08 PBA season paved the way for the 2006-07 undrafted hopefuls. Among those selected were Purefoods’ Chico Lanete and Rob Sanz, Sta. Lucia’s Dennis Daa, and Welcoat’s Don Dulay. Among those debuting from the 2005 draft were the once undrafted Ariel Capus of Alaska, and Philip Butel and Christian Coronel of Sta. Lucia. Alvin Pua of San Sebastian was picked up by Sta. Lucia in this year’s Fiesta Cup. He was one of those left out in the 2004 Draft which starred Rich Alvarez and James Yap.
We will concentrate though with the 2007 Batch of neophytes.
REED JUNTILLA – Coming from an impressive stint from the Hapee Complete Protectors in the PBL. Red Bull picked the guy up from the minors and he is expected to at least play a game for the Barakos (as of presstime, he was placed on the active list in place of Mark Andaya).
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
FIESTA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
FRANCIS BARCELLANO – The draft sucked hard when he wasn’t drafted. Why? Size was the draft’s biggest problem and the ex-FEU slotman was unpicked. Good times though, Talk N Text found a way to put him in the roster. Yes, this was the same team that had Taulava (later Peek), Carey, Allado, Washington, De Ocampo, Aljamal, and a big-sized random Fiesta Conference import. He couldn’t play for 25 percent of a quarter even though he was not injured! Two games and a rebound later, he was back in the PBL playing for Burger King.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 2 0 0.5 0 0 0
FIESTA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
CHRIS BALUYOT – San Sebastian’s pride and joy was picked up by the Express to fill in Gary David’s absence. Due to Air21’s mission to let all their players play, Baluyot played in 12 of the team’s 20 games in the Philippine Cup. The opportunity was there but the talent never showed up. After the conference he was back in the PBL playing side-by-side with Barcellano. Sure, some say Burker King/Mail and More is Air21’s PBL farm team but his PBA was so forgettable that even in the minors he can’t show promise to climb up.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 12 0.5 0.4 0.1 0 0
FIESTA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
JR AQUINO – Arguably the best undrafted player signed in the 2007 draft, the DLSU forward was a virtual unknown to even make the PBA. Hell, no one even took his game seriously when he was juggling Joseph Yeo’s towel in the years he was playing for the Archers. But he was picked up by the Kings and he became a significant contributor despite the team’s abundance of talent. He also participated in this year’s PBA-sponsored ADMU-DLSU games. Sadly, Junthy Valenzuela and Willy Wilson’s entry to the team left him in the sidelines come the Fiesta conference.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 15 2.3 2.2 0.3 0.1 0.1
FIESTA N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
THE SECOND ROUND
17. RJ MASBANG – This was the time Red Bull passed up in picking and Talk N Text followed suit. This was a very good indication on how weak the 2007 Draft was. Seeing those crying aspirants, Air21 came to the rescue and decided to pick a player from the pool. This turned out to be RJ Masbang, remembered as an adequate support for Yap, Artadi, Tubid, Canaleta, etc., during his UE days. Air21 tried to make something out of this player… which turned in vain as the Express decided on picking Baluyot instead of this forward.
16. ARDY LARONG – He was one of the handfuls that came from the South to get drafted. It came as a surprise when he was picked by Alaska since observers saw him as a “free agent player”. Alaska sent this player packing eventually and in the free agent pool he was picked up by Purefoods. For a player seen as a benchwarmer (in which he became), he had several good moments in his rookie season. He also got the ire of Jayjay Helterbrand for been too scrappy… which was good until he was “boxed” out by Jayjay’s Ginebra buddies which prompted Ryan Gregorio to realize that Larong is too weak as a PF and too slow for the SF spot.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 17 1.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.2
FIESTA 3 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.3 0
15. JOJO DUNCIL – Seen as perhaps a first round pick, his entry to the draft was deemed dubious. Set to play for the 70Th UAAP Season, officials caught him as an overaged player, therefore disqualifying his chances to make a return engagement for the then-defending champions, UST Growling Tigers. The 2006 Finals MVP was picked up by fellow Kapampangan Yeng Guiao to bolster Red Bull’s slasher positions. He played sparingly in the Philippine Cup but when Junthy Valenzuela was traded, he quickly got the nod to play the Hitman’s spot. Still struggling though… but otherwise developing.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 17 5.9 2.2 0.9 0.5 0.1
FIESTA 11 7.5 2.6 1.5 0.5 0
14. MARVIN CRUZ – Deemed as a certified first round pick, Air21 was lucky to find this spitfirish guard still available in the middle of the second round. The 2006 UAAP Mythical Five selection has both offense and defense and people could see him leading Air21’s new generation. To be fair, he didn’t get adequate minutes because Wynne Arboleda is not yet ready to relinquish his spot. Whenever the flashy former UP Maroon was needed though, he packs up the punch. Another year or two of seasoning and we could see Cruz getting a lion’s share of minutes.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 19 4.4 1.1 1.7 0.8 0
FIESTA 18 4.2 1.4 1.2 0.3 0
13. MELVIN MAMACLAY – Mamaclay came to fame a couple years back by preferring the PBL over the UAAP. This was when the two leagues were on a tear regarding salaries and allowances. He didn’t have the best of careers but he was certainly a talent. However when he came to the draft he has been unheard of for some time and he was playing for the grassroot leagues that was not PBL. That was why people were shocked to see the Realtors pick the former Adamson Falcon in the early second round. Still he got a chance to play in some games and while there is nothing significant about his contributions, SLR is still looking forward to the development of this player.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 9 1.1 1.0 0.3 0 0
FIESTA 4 2.0 0.5 0 0 0
12. RYAN ARANA – Welcoat is as dumb as hell if they think taking out Junjun Cabatu was good for their team. To give them credit though, they had a great time stacking up on rookies. Arana is donned as a poor man’s version of James Yap. He can score from the outside, although not as accurate as Yap but he also has defense – something that would give you accolades in any PBA team. Sitting out of UAAP’s season 69 after the DLSU scandal, this former Archer wowed critics in his good showing as a member of the Harbour Centre Port Masters. He did not disappoint the Dragons as he gave Welcoat an ignition factor off the bench.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 17 8.5 3.4 1.1 0.4 0.5
FIESTA 17 6.9 3.2 1.1 0.4 0
11. RONJAY BUENAFE – He came from a Emilio Aguinaldo College, otherwise known as a Division III league (if you count UAAP and NCAA tied for first place and the Southern Colleges in the Vis-Min area as the second). Only a handful could get out of a predicament called the NCRAA (St. Francis’ De Ocampo brothers, Lyceum’s Gary David, PSBA’s Marc Pingris are among those exceptions). After performing well as a member of the Burger King Whoppers, coaches are hesitant whether this shooting hotshot could bring his skills to the big stage. He was picked first in the second round and he quickly made a mark that he was a force to be reckon with. He eventually became one of the top dogs of the Tigers, perhaps permanently placing Kenneth Duremdes and John Arigo on the reserve list. He still needs to work on the other facets of his game but people could easily mark him as one of the Top Three Rookies of his batch.
CONF GAMES PTS REB AST STL BLK
PHILCUP 21 11.8 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.2
FIESTA 18 9.7 2.1 2.1 0.9 0.1
To be continued. While waiting, SURF PORN!
See my other crazy potshots at www.hoops.blink.ph
