As of this writing, the franchise still holds the rights to Barako Bulls' players who were adopted via the dispersal draft namely: Marlou Aquino, Pong Escobal, Jojo Duncil, Lordy Tugade, Borgie Hormida and Aries Dimaunahan. That, plus the fifth overall pick in this Sunday's PBA draft.
Given the order of drafting, it would be safe to assume that the Clickers would land either Mac Barracael or Marcio Lassiter (as the top three would probably be a toss up among Jayvee Casio, Paul Lee and Andy Barroca) which isn't all that bad. Far from it. Lassiter could be a diamond in the rough if given more freedom (he has game and spunk) while Baracael is a legit PBA-ready player who can be asked to switch from SG, SF all the way up to PF on both offense and defense.
Of the BB list, only Borgie Hermida and Jojo Duncil should be given a look at the very least. Aquino's just a basketball player by name, Escobal's just another warm body while who knows when Tugade and Dimaunahan will start breaking down due to age and injuries?
Either way, expect Pumaren to tap into some UAAP standouts who are plying their trade over at Liga Pilpinas (a lot of UST and ADMU names are associated with SMART Pampanga) or the ABL.
On a lighter note, I have trouble understanding why the Air21 Express would even bother changing their name into Barako Bull (which will now be known as Shopinas.Com). I understand that these are two separate PBA franchises, but they are owned by pretty much the same team. Why couldn't Air21 just carry Shopinas.Com and leave Barako Bull as is, or bring back the Burger King Whoppers (which I love since the PBA looks so much better when the teams are all well-known brands).
Also, wouldn't it be funny if Shiela Lina and Shopinas.com become the new Air21 in more ways than one? Like having its own private website for teams looking to make upgrades via trade? Each Clicker will have his own website complete with downloadable PDF profile, stats and a YouTube mixtape for scouts/ other teams to view and a counter to place their bids? Yeah. You heard/read it here first! Online shopping is the way of the future!
Feeling ko they want Barako Bull to be associated with winning naman. Red Bull was a competitive team during the early part of Yeng Guiao's tenure. They were the Detroit Pistons of PBA; badasses who will not hold back on giving up hard fouls, when "The Raging Bull" was actually "raging". Then came the WTF trades where they became the one-team NBDL of the PBA. The name change did not help.
ReplyDeleteDespite the hype, they don't realistically think that the former Barako Bull franchise will be able to compete the way they want to. For one, they have an accomplished, yet rookie pro head coach in Franz. And their franchise will be built around a prospective star they might get in the draft, or Jojo Duncil, who made a name for himself only after everyone else was sidelined by injury. I think, that though they are optimistic about their team (you wouldn't buy a team without the goal of actually winning, right?), they want a fresh start for this franchise, hence the name change to Shopinas, while they want to revive a franchise, hence
the name change to Barako Bull on a somewhat loaded Air21 team.
But that's just me.:P