2015 PBA Mock Draft V 1.0

Number 1 or Number 2?
(Photo courtesy of SLAM.ph)

Though we personally believe that it's a tad bit too early for this (most of the names we want/expect aren't even in yet!), there's no harm in sharing our 2015 PBA Mock Draft now is there? Some of the names are a given, but the manner or order in which they will be drafted should be a bit of a surprise.

Here. We. Go.

12. San Miguel Beermen - Norbert Torres, 6"6
Go big or go home, Arnold Vosotros is a nice option as well but it would be hard for other teams not to tab the burly Green Archer (even if he is still a project at best) in the 2nd round. Call this a back-up plan for the Beermen in case any of their bigs get hurt OR a very good trade chip.

11. Rain or Shine Elastopainters - Aljon Mariano, 6"3
San Miguel will hope to land Mariano (there's a whole story here, but we won't go into that for now), but we feel that head coach Yeng Guiao will find it very hard to resist the fundamentally sound Cabalen who is basically another Ronnie Matias or Larry Rodriguez in the making.

10. Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters - Glenn Khobuntin, 6"4
Remember when Jayson Castro talked about how his team needs some bad boys? Well, okay, Khobuntin's not exactly going to rough anyone up but he does look the part. A solid wingman who can easily transition to either a PBA 3 or 4, Khobuntin will be a great understudy for veteran Ranidel de Ocampo as the season progresses.


9. Meralco Bolts - Avery Scharer, 6"2
The Bolts could be looking at either a sleeper Stanley Pringle or the next Jon Ordonio with this pick. He's been solid in the ASEAN Basketball League, but not enough to really make a splash that it would capture local headlines. Athleticism is insane, but fundamentals need some work. Still, he can play and guard the PBA 1 to 3 spots.

8. Alaska Aces - Maverick Ahanmisi, 6"2
Now that former head coach Luigi Trillo and his "Attitude Era" is out of the way, we see the Aces going for another big guard in hopes of finding the right guy to eventually supplant aging guards Dondon Hontiveros and Cyrus Baguio. Ahanmisi allows them to do just that, while also being able to play the point position. Him and Banchero together should be real nice for the Aces backcourt after the PBA "dwarfish" pair of JVee Casio and RJ Jazul.

7. Purefoods Star Hotshots - Scottie Thompson, 6"0
With stars PJ Simon and James Yap going up there in mileage and their heir-apparent Allein Maliksi unfortunately always injured, we feel that the Hotshots will go for the former NCAA MVP who averaged somewhere around 17 points and 11 rebounds per outing.

6. NLEX Road Warriors (from Ginebra) - Baser Amer, 6"0
Finally, a legitimate, healthy point guard for head coach Boyet Fernandez. For all things Jonas Villanueva, the former PBA Finals co-MVP is either injured or inconsistent. Don't be surprised if Fernandez goes to Amer more than his veterans as early as the 1st conference.

5. Meralco Bolts (from GlobalPort) - Garvo Lanete, 6"1
Say hello to the Gary David retirement/insurance plan. No one has been groomed a lot better for David's spot than Lanete, who was also one of the token outside shooters for the Gilas pool. Oh, and he plays much better defense too.

4. Barako Bull - Chris Newsome, 6"2
We know, we know. He's not from La Salle! He's from Ateneo! But we have a feeling that head coach Koy Banal et. al. will go for the talented Newsome, who is in the mold of Ginebra's Chris Ellis (when he's not being benched or used poorly) if only to start revving up their promising guard rotation (and to screw with Team MVP's plans).

3. Rain or Shine Elastopainters (from NLEX) - Troy Rosario, 6"7
As the team continues to transition from a rugged basketball team to a new age one (less brutes, more pogi thus the decision to let go of old hands Ronnie Matias and Larry Rodriguez), Rosario is able to answer both calls. He's a stretch forward who can knock down threes but at the same time has no qualms of rebounding the basketball and playing rugged defense. RoS' can't lose with Extra Rice and the Half Rice pairing of Rosario and Raymond Almazan.

2. Kia Carnival - Moala Tautuaa, 6"7
A solid building block for head coach Manny Pacquiao and team, Tautuaa will be allowed to flourish and establish himself in the PBA as one of its future, premier big men. Having Tautuaa (who plays more like a muscled-up wing man) and Reil Cervantes/ Mark Yee as the Carnival's frontline duo would be quite imposing to say the least in an All-Pinoy tournament.

1. Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters (from Blackwater) - Ray Ray Parks, Jr., 6"4
The Texters have a pressing need for a legitimate big man and could have solved/ addressed that with man-mountain Tautuaa. BUT, when you have a guy as decorated as Parks, Jr. available for the Number 1 overall pick, you don't just say "oh we have Matt Ganuelas Rosser in the fold, we don't need Parks, Jr." If a prodigy is available, you go for that prodigy and figure out the rest later.