Victolero hopes to pick up the right fit in the rookie draft

Star coach Chito Victolero. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Upon seeing the field in the upcoming 2017 PBA Rookie Draft, Star coach Chito Victolero is confident that the Hotshots can secure a solid contributor from the rookies in this year’s proceedings.

“The talent pool is good, so I think we can sign a solid rookie,” he said in Filipino.

Slotted at ninth in the first round, Star is bound to miss the highly touted neophytes like Christian Standhardinger, Kiefer Ravena, and Jeron Teng.

But Victolero isn’t fretting over his late pick, with a handful of players already earning the attention of the Hotshots’ coaching staff in the two-day 2017 Gatorade PBA Draft Combine.

“There’s a lot who impressed us. You can really see who will be selected early, so it now boils down on who will be left for us in the bottom of the first round,” he said.

Victolero has yet to decide on Star’s potential first round selection, but the soft-spoken mentor said that the priority for his team is to pick someone who can blend seamlessly to his system, the same way Jio Jalalon did in this past season.

“We’re looking at those players who we believe will fit right into our system, aside from their talent. That’s always what we’re looking for, the best talent available who fits our system,” he said.

“Hopefully, we can get the ones which interested us.”