PBA unveils preseason plans: Rookie draft, deadline for listing slated

San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria has hinted on a rebuild after the team saw its all-Filipino reign come to an end. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PBA IMAGES

The Philippine Basketball Association plans to have a running start to next year as early as the first week of January despite a cloud of uncertainty hovering over its next season.

The league is set to lift its moratorium on trades by Jan. 4, and finalize its pool for draftees by Jan. 27, according to commissioner Willie Marcial.

“This should enable teams to study how they’ll approach the Rookie Draft,” the league’s chief said in a recent Philippine Sportswriters Association forum.

Marcial had earlier told the Inquirer that there are still several questions that need to be sorted out as to how the next season will unfold. The league is looking at a closed-circuit season after completing its 45th staging in a biosecure zone.

“We’re still studying a lot of factors and learning from other leagues,” Marcial said.

However, there’s nothing stopping the league from pushing through with its preseason activities.

The annual Rookie Draft is penciled in for March 14 and is expecting an abundance in talent owing to the league’s decision to strike a D-League stint from its list of requirements.

Terrafirma is again set to take the first pick in the 2021 Rookie Draft, which will be held virtually. NorthPort and NLEX will select next, in that order, with both squads having a chance to pick again in the first round owing to their hand in TNT high-profile trades that involved Terrence Romeo (2018) and Poy Erram (2019).

The country’s top 3×3 stars Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol and Leonard Santillan banner the crop of entrants. Filipino players with foreign lineage or roots like Franky Johnson, Jeremiah Gray, Jason Brickman and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser have also tossed in their names to the list.

The PBA Board is also set to reconvene sometime in January to discuss with finality whether another Gilas Pilipinas draft will be held.

Should such a scenario unfold, the PBA could enjoy one of its deepest talent pools in recent history with several Gilas cadets, like NCAA MVP Calvin Oftana and La Salle big man Justine Baltazar, finally making the transition to the pros.

A lot of trades are also looming with San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria hinting on a rebuild following the team’s botched campaign in the all-Filipino, where its dynastic reign of the league’s premier conference was stopped at five seasons by the Meralco Bolts, who eliminated the Beermen in the quarterfinals.

“We still don’t know yet if we’re extending [the deadline for rookie registration],” Marcial said. “And whether the Board (of Governors) would allow those who have dual citizenship [to apply for the Rookie Draft].”

The idea of allowing players with dual nationalities to enter the draft as locals cropped up following the Indonesian Basketball League’s move earlier this week to allow naturalized citizens to suit up as homegrown talents.

Marcial had earlier said the league’s 46th season was set to open on April 9 to coincide with its founding anniversary. However, the PBA boss pointed out that opening on that date largely depends on how the country has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic by then.

“In everything we plan, the safety of the people will always be the prime consideration,” Marcial said. INQ