UAAP stars among 215 aspiring D-League rookies

COLLEGIATE standouts and an unrestricted NBA free agent lead a whopping 215 hopefuls in the 2015 PBA D-League Rookie Draft slated next week.

Smarting from their teams’ painful exit in the UAAP, Ateneo’s Von Pessumal and Alfonso Gotladera and La Salle’s Jason Perkins and Julian Sargent hope to get back to winning in the developmental league.

Avery Scharer, a Filipino-American left undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft but made waves in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), also banners the 26 foreign players with Filipino roots who signed up before jumping to the pro league next year.

“This is an encouraging development for the league and basketball in general,” PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa said in a statement yesterday. “Who knows, maybe this batch could lead to new discoveries for future Gilas pools.”

Seven teams get to pick in the Draft set at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1 at the new PBA Café in Ortigas, Pasig City.

Racal/Keramix, which placed ninth in the Aspirants Cup and eighth in the Foundation Cup, owns the No.1 pick.

AMA University, Tanduay Light, Café France and Wangs Basketball choose next. Jasmine W. Payo