Surprise picks in PBA draft

A POPULAR PBA governor was all praises for rookie Alex Nuyles, whose exemplary diligence and attitude came to the fore just  before the rookie draft.

According to the governor,  the 6-foot-2 guard/forward was not expected to be drafted in the first round but because  he had meticulously prepared a pre-draft program for himself,  the teams noticed him and he was picked ninth overall by Rain or  Shine

“Prior to the draft, Nuyles made the rounds of the PBA teams for a tryout so the coaches could get the chance  to evaluate his skills and determine if he has  a place in their team. Well apparently his diligence paid off,” the governor said.

A product of Adamson University, Nuyles  played for  Big Chill and EA Regen in the  D-League.

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In contrast, the governor cited the case of another draftee who was expected to be picked in the first round but landed in the second.

A number of PBA teams  had been eyeing the popular cager before the draft until they made a background check and found out that his mother was difficult to handle.

“She is notorious for being  a  ‘war freak’ and several teams decided not to touch the cager with the proverbial 10-foot pole,” said the governor.

“She shouts at the coach if her son is not fielded in; she thinks she knows better than the coach. One time,  the  entire coaching staff of a team competing in a Chinese basketball league threatened to resign unless she was restrained.”

Checking the veracity of the  governor’s report,  a  lady scribe covering the  collegiate beat just laughed.

“Yeah, I guess she really is loud and noisy. But she’s very nice off the court.  It’s very strange. It’s like she has two different personalities on and off the court. She’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” the scribe said.

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Late-breaking news: After going through intensive negotiations  to acquire a new head coach to replace Junel Baculi,  Globalport owner  Mikee Romero has decided to try an untested Richie Ticzon on an interim basis (See related story on Page A18).

Mikee might have been put in a spot. His heart was on Alaska assistant coach Alex Compton, thinking that moving to Globalport as head coach was an upgrade  and  Alaska owner Fred Uytengsu would not stand in the way of progress. Mikee said Alex had said yes, perhaps  also thinking that  Fred would release him in a gesture of magnanimity, even if he had just signed a fresh two-year contract.

Before Alex said yes, the choice was down to  him and FEU coach Nash Racela.

Unfortunately,  Uytengsu said no.