Rookie hopefuls show strength, athleticism in PBA Biometrics

Rookie hopefuls undergo PBA biometrics, including sit-ups, push-ups, pull- ups Monday Oct. 28, 2013 at the Gatorade Hoops Gym in Mandaluyong. NUKI SABIO/PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Rookie hopefuls showcased their strength and athleticism as the PBA conducted its traditional biometrics at the Gatorade Hoops Gym in Mandaluyong Monday morning.

A requirement to complete their application for the upcoming 2013 PBA Rookie Draft, all but eight of the 85 hopefuls were split into five teams and underwent a series of workouts.

Top prospect Greg Slaughter, unsurprisingly, given that he is the tallest among the applicants att 6-foot-11 and 5/8 inches, had the highest recorded vertical leap among the rookies at 11 feet and six inches.

Slaughter, the former Ateneo star, is expected to be picked by crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the no. 1 spot at the event slated on November 3 at Robinsons’ Place Ermita.

But even as he stood a foot shorter than Slaughter, Fil-American guard Justin Melton showed how high he could jump and registered a vertical leap of 11′ 4″.

“Lucky jump,” Melton told reporters with a laugh. “I feel good, other people did great too.”

Six-foot-one Alex Nuyles, a former Adamson forward, also recorded 11′ 4″ in his vertical jump attempt, the best among the homegrown applicants.

And that even impressed Barako Bull head coach Bong Ramos.

“We saw Nuyles, he jumps really high. Actually, when he practiced with us [Barako], we already noticed him. Very athletic,” Ramos told INQUIRER.net in Filipino.

Nuyles said that he was thankful that Ramos found interest in him, saying in Filipino, “I’m happy to see that my hardwork pays off.”

Ramos was at the venue along with consultant Rajko Toroman, who calls the shots for the Energy. They hold the fourth to sixth picks in the draft.

“We look at the players’ athleticism, especially for the big men. This helps us in a way, but it’s still better when you can see them play and see their skills.”

Projected shoo-ins in the top three of the draft, the six-foot-seven Raymund Almazan from Letran measured a wingspan of 81 inches while former San Sebastian Stag Ian Sangalang, with a height of six-foot-five and 5/8 inches, has a wingspan of 77 inches.

“It was great seeing those I played with before here [in the rookie camp],” Sangalang said in Filipino. “I’m blessed that I’m being projected in the top three but I’ll just wait until Nov. 3 three, because nothing’s for sure until then.”

The league also measured the players’ weight, wingspan, and made them go through sit ups, push ups, pull ups and bench press routines.

Melton also had the most number of push ups with 104, followed by Jose Rizal University’s Nate Matute with 99 and Big Chill standout Mac Montilla with 98.

Former Far Eastern University Tamaraw Paul Sanga, meanwhile, had the most number of sit ups with 533 while University of the Philippines Maroon Mark Lopez had 53 pull ups.

Eight players who were part of the initial list of applicants didn’t make it to the workout including Ateneo’s Ryan Buenafe, former San Beda guard Mar Villahermosa and former University of Santo Tomas playmaker Japs Cuan. Aspirants who failed to take part in the pre-draft combine will be ineligible for the draft unless they issue a valid excuse.