Intact 64-man list for PBA Draft

IT WAS  almost impossible  to get hold of newly appointed deputy commissioner  Rickie Santos on the eve of the annual PBA Rookie Draft yesterday. He was earlier tasked to take  charge  of  one  of   the  league’s  most important events and  two pre-draft  events  leading to  the big  day  scheduled  this  afternoon at Robinsons Place Manila.

I just  wanted   confirmation  from Santos  that nobody was really dropped  from  the original  list  of 64 applicants  despite  an  earlier  warning  that   aspirants  who fail to  undergo  the  required  biometrics   and attend  the rookie camp  would  be  scrapped  from  the list and disqualified  from   the draft.

Fortunately I bumped  into  veteran player agent Danny Espiritu just before  I wrote  this  column yesterday. Espiritu said  he  had  just sealed  a contract  for Jay Washington, a new client.

Espiritu confirmed that   the original 64, except  for Gilas   cagers Troy Rosario and  Fil-Tongan Moala Tautuaa  who  are  in Estonia  with  the  national team, will  be  at Robinsons Place  for  the PBA Draft.  But  the two, predicted  by experts  to be  the top picks, are  eligible  to  be  drafted.

According   to Espiritu, there   were eight aspirants   who  were unable  to complete   the  requirements but  were  declared eligible for the draft after submitting documents explaining  why they  failed to do so.

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Espiritu   said Rosario  is  one  of 25   rookies  in  his  stable  this  season.

He said  he  could  not predict  how  many will  be drafted today, but  he expects   seven of his  cagers  to  be picked  in  the  first  round.

In addition  to Rosario  of National University, his other top draft prospects are Scottie Thompson, Michael Mabulak,  Kevin Racal, Mark Cruz  and Almond Vosotros  of La Salle.

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I  have  been  religiously  watching  all    episodes of Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC)  in  the country  but I  can’t remember Ale Cali’s  last   fight  before he  was  gunned down  by men  riding tandem in a town  in Davao recently.

Cali  was a former  PXC  flyweight champion. He was a boxer  before   he  turned  to mixed martial  arts.

With his fancy, colorful  moves,  Cali   was  one of   the  most popular Filipino  fighters, if  not  the  most popular’

According  to  reports,  the slaying  of Cali  could  be a crime  of passion. He  has been  linked  to a young  woman  who is   said  to  have a boyfriend from the military.