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Even Marinerong Pilipino coach Koy Banal was surprised that he was still able to get his hands on highly touted prospect Alvin Pasaol as late as the second round.
“We thought he’s going to be the top pick for AMA, but everything happens for a reason,” he said.
With school-based teams already filling up their rosters with varsity players, AMA, Marinerong Pilipino, and newcomer Mila’s Lechon were given the luxury of picking the best talent from the aspirants pool in the first four rounds of the 2017 PBA D-League Draft.
Surprisingly, Fil-foreign players were first players plucked as Owen Graham went to the Titans while the Skippers got Kyle Toth.
Thus Banal still was able to pluck the high-scoring Pasaol from the pool as he got one of the most sought after prospects with the UE super scorer.
Aside from Pasaol, Marinerong Pilipino also got La Salle big man Abu Tratter and Ateneo forward Vince Tolentino from the draft to team up with holdovers Achie Iñigo, Renzo Subido, John Lopez, and Mark Isip.
Banal was satisfied to be able to get collegiate standouts with the the first conference of the developmental league dominated by school-based teams.
“We’re facing collegiate teams, so we needed young legs who would be able to keep up with our opponents who has young legs also,” said Banal.
“The important thing is the chemistry. All of them are good picks and can contribute anytime in any given game in our team. We’re just hoping that we build a good chemistry.