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| CJ Perez to Columbian (Image courtesy of ABS CBN Sports) |
1. Columbian – CJ Perez, PG, 6”1
What we love about Perez’ game is that he was not satisfied by being tagged as the “Baby Beast”—a tribute given his game’s (and background’s) similarity to Phoenix’s Calvin Abueva. No, he went from being that energy guy who can do it all a.k.a. ‘rebound ko, baba ko’ and transformed himself to 1) a slasher and scorer with a legitimate perimeter jumpshot and 2) a point guard who can make great reads and passes that are not a byproduct of the offense (like a dribble drive that makes lead combo guards look monstrous when in all, they’re simply kicking out the ball to guys who are locked into certain areas on the floor and not moving at all). While he may not be the best talent available in this year’s Draft, not a lot of fans would argue against his selection. Columbian would be complete and utter fools if they do not hand him the keys outright.
2. Blackwater – Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., SF, 6”3
The best available talent in this year’s draft. He has the size. He has the handles. He has the range. He has the experience. Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. was born to be in the PBA. At 25, he’s already reaching his prime as a basketball player. Parks, Jr. has been so good, that the only flaw we could really point out is how sometimes, we feel like he could do more- when in reality, the numbers that he puts up on a daily basis wherever he plays, are good enough to win league MVP today. Sure, we want him to be more aggressive. Sure, we wish he’d put in more time in the gym and lose some baby fat. But make no mistake about it, you’d be very hard-pressed to find guys who are better than Parks, Jr. at the 2-3 spots in the PBA. We also appreciate how he’s played off the ball for Alab Pilipinas under Jimmy Alapag, if only to teach him other ways to be effective (he played off it for the most part last year but still won ABL Local MVP). Unfortunately, we’d have to wait until the 2nd/ 3rd conference to see his true worth.
3. NorthPort – Robert Bolick, SG, 6”1
Bolick, if are to believe the NorthPort camp, is a Terrence Romeo replacement minus the long hair, flash and excessive ball-handling. He can definitely log in some minutes at the point, though his handles may not be as good versus a Chris Ross or Jayson Castro. What you like about Bolick is that he’s ready to score and willing to do anything to win, he can play off the ball while still being effective—which is what NorthPort really needs since we expect star guard Stanley Pringle to dominate the offense. A bit of an overlap with Jonathan Gray in terms of what they bring to the table, and maybe a concern defensively should the pair play alongside Pringle.
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| Parks to Blackwater (Image courtesy of ABS CBN Sports) |
This kid is a great talent who has good size, plays tough defense and can score. Playing (and starring) for a team that has PBA ties is a great way to boost your stock, and Desiderio (along with the rest of us) found out that loyalty (still) goes a long way in Philippine basketball. The way Yeng Guiao utilizes all of his players, Desiderio should be able to show his wares right away although he is reportedly going to be sent to Blackwater for JP Erram, where he can continue to earn his keep and a spot in the rotation.
5. Meralco – Trevis Jackson, PG/ SG, 6”1
A bit of a mystery here is Jackson, who played in the PBA D League where fans are in the dark owing to the poor promotion of the amateur league (it’s probably 5th in popularity, behind the PBA, UAAP, NCAA and MPBL these days). Silver lining here is if he can form an awesome backcourt with Chris Newsome as a couple of athletic ball hawkers who can run the floor with point guard Baser Amer.
6. Rain or Shine – Jayee Mocon, PF, 6”3
A bit undersized for the pros as a big man but mobile enough to maybe get away with it as a Ronnie Matias- type of player at the 3 though he needs to develop his shooting from the outside and maybe a bit of a handle enough to get into RoS’ big man rotation which is pretty loaded at the moment barring any trades. What you love about having Mocon in the fold is that he’s battle tested and a proven winner with championships from high school to college. He’s also played with and against foreign bigs and successfully held his own so the PBA brand of physicality shouldn’t be new to him.
7. NLEX – Abu Tratter, C, 6”6
Tratter is 6”6, can run up and down the floor, and has good hands. There are a couple of areas that he needs to work on such as securing proper rebounding position, shot blocking and having a go-to post move. At NLEX, he could learn a few things from veterans JayR Quinahan and Asi Taulava, but he’s being moved to Blackwater where, hopefully, he can get a lot of minutes and learn on the fly. They do not have a lot of options at the center spot (should he be traded alongside batchmate Desiderio for center JP Erram), so they need to throw him in there with the wolves to help speed up his growth. Running the floor with Parks, Jr. and Mac Belo should help Tratter in the long run.
8. Rain or Shine – Jjay Alejandro, SG, 6”1
Can play both guard positions with relative ease, be it on offense or defense. Alejandro should be a nice fit to fill in the expected hole once Chris Tiu retires. What’s nice about Alejandro is that he can play off the ball while always being ready to shoot. If Coach Caloy Garcia continues to run the RoS brand of basketball, we wouldn’t be surprised if Alejandro drops 15-20 points out of nowhere in the coming season.
9. Alaska – Jesper Ayaay, SG, 6”2
Ballsy. That’s how Ayaay strikes us. He’s a guard who can play off the ball and shoot from wherever. From what we’ve seen with him playing with CJ Perez at Lyceum, he can score from the outside, or he can run the baseline and pull out for an easy two—a bit of a lost art among today’s scorers who primarily work up top (or the corners at best). He also has good size to play defense, which gives Alaska another option to back up Simon Enciso.
10. Magnolia – Michael Calisaan, PF, 6”3,
In all honesty, we expected Calisaan to land with either NLEX or RoS, given the way he plays. He played the PF/C spots in college, but something tells us that he can transition a bit to a catch and shoot, defensive 3-4 guy in the PBA. Definitely a player that Magnolia needs to help beef up their frontline though a little lacking in the height department. Still, if we’re talking small ball, he’d be an excellent partner for Ian Sangalang who is more of a finesse player.
11. Columbian – JP Calvo, PG, 5”8
An undersized point guard with a giant chip on his shoulder for sure. Was he the best option here if Columbian wanted a point guard? Well, the jury’s out on that one since there’s a guy by the name of Teytey Teodoro who we feel could’ve been just as good a pick in the 1st round (Columbian chose him in the 3rd round, which makes us ask-- is there a conspiracy vs Lawrence Chiongson guys?).
12. Phoenix – Jorey Napoles, PF, 6”4, mpbl swing man
How is he related to our favorite stage actor slash Sunday Pinasaya host, Jerald? A solid find from the MPBL, Jorey is a reliable wing man with steady range though his handles may be suspect. He could be a great understudy for Willie Wilson, and we all know how guys who play and practice with Calvin Abueva tend to ‘toughen up’ big time.
A couple of names who were drafted later on that we feel will be able to make an impact in the pros: Bong Quinto (MER), Kris Porter (NLEX), Gideon babilonia (ALA), Ron Dennison (PHX), Teytey Teodoro (COL) and Matt Salem (GIN).
Lastly, this writer has always believed that if you’re doing something, you better do it at 100% or not at all. I’ve tried my very best to maintain this blog but given my other commitments, but now I think it’s pretty safe to say that I can now formally retire kilikilishot.blogspot.com – the blog. I’m always on Twitter @kilikilishot for some feel good, basketball exchange of ideas and bickering. What’s next? Podcast? Video channel? Who knows?
All I can and want to say is thank you for dropping by and giving this local basketball nut an opportunity to share ideas with you. Thank you for dropping by!
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