2019 PBA Mock Draft Version 1.0

Go number 1?
(Photo credit: ABS CBN Sports)

Mark your calendars as we are all set to welcome some new blood into the Philippine Basketball Association by way of the 2019 PBA Draft this Sunday, December 8.

Though it's rather unfortunate that some favorites and household names have already opted to skip this year's affair for one reason or another, this is a great opportunity for those who have decided to take a leap of faith to show just how good they are. In the previous years, we've seen a lot of NCAA standouts being picked in the 1st round over the more 'mainstream' UAAP hopefuls. Just this season, we were treated to the brilliance of Columbian' CJ Perez, the 1st overall pick, and Northport's Robert Bolick.

As per my previous Mock Drafts in the old blog: kilikilishot.blogspot.com ; we're going with who we feel each team needs and who's the best available.

Let's go!

1 Columbian - Roosevelt Adams, G/F
While the media continues to push Go down our throats, don't be surprised if this 6"5 Fil-Am ends up going 1st overall seemingly out of nowhere. Honestly, I've seen him play enough to be convinced that he has great potential-- he can knock down 3s, he rebounds, he doesn't force the issue and at 6"5 could easily be a match-up nightmare right away vs most of the PBA wings. Pairing Adams with Perez would be great on paper, with one guy slashing to the basket and the other knocking down 3s.

2 Blackwater - Isaac Go, C 
The Ateneo big man has been making waves as the potential top pick this year, but we feel like he'll slide down 1 spot to the more versatile Adams. Which isn't all that bad considering the guy's never been a career 10-10 machine. At best, he put up 9 points and 5 boards en route to a PBA D League MVP trophy. Still, the silver lining here is that you've got a kid who is coachable, has a soft touch and looks like he's willing to be great and just play his role. Also, 6"8 is 6"8 in a league currently being dominated by the 5x PBA MVP, 6"10 Junemar Fajardo.



3 NLEX - Rey Suerte, SG
Before he suited up for UE in the UAAP, Suerte was already making waves as a 2x CESAFI MVP. That alone should tell you that yes, this guy is good. Imagine him running with Kiefer Ravena and Jericho Cruz, as Kevin Alas continues to work his way into form and you're looking at a very dangerous NLEX backcourt.

4 Alaska - Sean Manganti, SF
Because you know, this Manganti kid and Alaska just goes together. Solid wing who can make shots, move the ball and play defense. At 6"5 he can play the 3 while Ahanmisi and Teng take care of the backcourt. All of a sudden, the Aces will be bigger at positions 1-3.

5 Rain or Shine - Jerrick Balanza, SG/ SF
What a feel good story which we feel has prepared Balanza mentally for the tough PBA grind ahead. He's a tough-as-nails, old school scorer who can get the job done on both ends of the floor with a lot of grit. Playing behind Kuya Rey Nambatac and Javee Mocon will also help in Balanza's development.

6 Rain or Shine - Aaron Black, SG
Just a hunch here, but we feel that RoS might take a gamble on Black who has shown flashes here and there. Sure, he's no Chris Newsome, but RoS management, specially Coach Caloy Garcia, has always had a penchant for players who look and play a certain way-- Sol Mercado, Mav Ahanmisi. Could very well be a sleeper and sound contributor to the RoS system.

7 Meralco - Arvin Tolentino, PF 
Prodigal son. Tolentino is too talented not to be a first round pick, and we feel that he's matured enough after his Ateneo exit while playing for FEU and in the MPBL. Yes, from time to time, you do feel like he's playing like one of those 'rich boys' who don't want to get hurt, don't want to get into scuffles and absolutely won't dive for any loose balls. But then you see him making a suave move that leads to a nice jumper and say 'hey, this kid is pretty good.' This kid reminds me a lot of Mark Borboran, only chubbier and not as hustle-ish. Wait. Yeah, Borboran.

8 Northport - Bonbon Batiller, SG
Keeping it all in the family, but this time, addressing an obvious need in terms of firepower while Bolick recovers from injury. His familiarity with Coach Pido (by way of Coach/ Manager Bonnie Tan) will give him a boost of confidence, specially on a 'hungry' team like NP that doesn't seem to mind who scores the basket as long as everything runs through Christian Standhardinger first, everyone else, second.

9 Magnolia - Richard Escoto, PF/C

This team needs all the big men that they can get. Stat. Escoto fits the bill and has enough experience, so should be an easy fit right away. For now, it's Escoto or some one else who's over 6"4. It just doesn't make any sense if they go for a guard at this point.

10 Ginebra - Matt Nieto, PG 
Call it a hunch but we feel that the search for L.A. Tenorio's heir apparent (provided Scottie Thompson continues to play the 2-3 spot opposite Stanley Pringle) is going to be addressed next year through ADMU point man Nieto. At 6"0, Nieto has the size and speed to keep up with most PBA point guards while also being capable enough to run plays (hell, he spent majority of his collegiate career running plays for Tab Baldwin). But what's a bit under-the-radar about Nieto, which I've seen in flashes, is his ability to make clutch shots which should be a welcome, 'low key' addition to Ginebra.

11 TNT - Allyn Bulanadi, SG
A floor-spacing lefty that would fit in nicely to TNT's high-octane, European-style offense. He has good PBA size for a 2-guard and should be a threat on the floor when left open (mostly when guys go and chase after Jayson Castro and Roger Pogoy). His defense may need a bit of work, yes, but if it's just about getting buckets, Bulanadi's arguably Top 3 in this list.

12 San Miguel - Kib Montalbo, PG
Remember when Kib was that skinny superstar youth coming out of Bacolod? He's come a long way since the, winning a championship in college before opting to play in the MPBL to help polish his game. Montalbo quietly made a name for himself through his defense, and it should be nice learning the ropes from Chris Ross.

Your thoughts? @kilikilishot on Twitter !

The 2018 PBA Draft [RXN]

CJ Perez to Columbian
(Image courtesy of ABS CBN Sports)

Our Mock Draft came up a bit short (read: this writer forgot to post it!) so without further adieu, here's our reaction piece on yesterday's PBA Draft:

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.

Opening Day Game(s) notes

Come at us, brodies.
(Photo credit: Spin.ph)

The new PBA season is upon us!

Here are a few game notes from two days' worth of games, missed out on today's 2nd game: the Rain or Shine-TNT match, so you'll have to make do with the Blackwater vs Phoenix one for now. Will catch the game later on replay (thanks OSN and Aksyon International)!

Also, if you've been paying attention, it seems like they found a strong digital marketing arm to help keep in step with the times which is a good thing (someone send us free tickets or something! Lol)

San Miguel 96 - Star 88

- Alex Cabagnot, shooting guard. This is going to be fun.

Trade reactions/ free agent signings

This guy just keeps getting traded
and traded and traded...

We are literally just five days away from the opening of the 42nd season of the PBA; with fans already buzzing in excitement and anticipation of what's to come.

Can San Miguel defend their crown? Is Ginebra good enough to unseat their sister team minus Justin Brownlee? Will Alaska break the curse of The Kraken? Who can lead his new team to more wins: James Yap, Paul Lee or Coach Yeng Guiao?

But before that, here are a few other trades/ signings that happened just recently and what we think of it all:

Nico Salva joins Mahindra
Salva was reportedly on his way to Meralco (which would reunite him with his Ateneo brethren and head coach Norman Black) before Ginebra opted to send him to the Mahindra Floodbusters. Honestly, we still think that this was something of a good fortune to Salva although he went from being able to join a contender to a cellar-dweller. See, the Floodbusters decided to go on a frontline fire sale in the off-season (they lost Aldrech Ramos, Nino Canaleta AND Bradwyn Guinto to trades) which left Coach Chris Gavina scratching his head and looking at: Jeckster Apinan, Mark Yee, Rob Reyes and rookies Russel Escoto and Joseph Eriobu (who is a small forward by trade). If Salva is lucky and works hard enough, he could be of some use as a rotation 3 or 4 although we are not too sure how he'll fare minus a key big man (his best years in ADMU, including his Finals MVP, was brought about by playing the weak side, opposite a dominant big).

PBA Draft 2016 Grades

Dem boyz
(Photo credit: inquirer.net)

The 2016 PBA Draft has finally come to an end and with it, the start of promising PBA careers for about 30 or more draftees. Though we will have to admit that some of the proceeding's luster was offset by the whole "special/ regular" thing and the fact that the Gilas picks were revealed by "insiders" as early as Friday morning.

You will have to bear with us regarding the order of the picks, since we were just as dumbfounded as the next guy. From what we have gathered, the "Gilas round" was the "first round" though the players were not called in order of selection (the PBA agreed to call the teams up to the stage alphabetically, which is probably a first in all of pro-sports). To avoid confusion, we are just going to put a "G" next to the names of the Gilas draftees, and start with 1 for Blackwater's Ael Banal and so on.

Here's our team grades:

Trade reaction: Carlo Lastimosa to NLEX

The Yeng Guiao era is slowly dawning upon us.

In what we feel is only the beginning of more roster changes, the newly-installed NLEX head coach has acquired the services of rising star Carlo Lastimosa from the Blackwater Elite in exchange for little-used James Forrester and a 2016 PBA Draft 2nd round pick (which in essence is really a 3rd rounder no thanks to the Gilas "special" draft).

Basically, they lost a 6mpg 1ppg 1rpg guy and gained a 2nd generation talent who is coming off a breakout season by averaging 26mpg 18ppg 3rpg 2apg while shooting 43% from the 2-pt and 32% from 3.

Season of learning

The Slash Brothers
(Photo credit: cnnphilippines.com)

You win some, you lose some.

Now that the PBA has expanded to twelve teams (soon to be thirteen), winning a title—let alone staying competitive, is becoming a much more difficult task. There are a lot of factors that affect a team’s chances of winning, none more than the possibility of high caliber players (even coaches) being pirated by big-money franchises.

Heck we even learned this season that even big-money, sister, franchises are not safe from “cannibalizing” one another; a fate suffered by the Star Hotshots, who lost both their grand slam coach Tim Cone and versatile wing Joe DeVance, at the hands of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

Three teams have already been officially eliminated in the season-ending PBA Governor’s Cup: the Hotshots, GlobalPort Batang Pier, and Blackwater Elite. Here are some of the things we noticed in their respective campaigns, where they went wrong and could build on moving forward and through the 2016 PBA Draft.

KKS Trade Reaction: Cortez to GlobalPort

Back in green... NEON green, that is.
(Photo credit: Aktv)

GlobalPort Batang Pier recently acquired the services of veteran point guard Mike Cortez from the Blackwater Elite for Ronald Pascual in what has mostly been an under-the-radar sort of trade.

Under-the-radar, since there was little to no fanfare surrounding the deal involving an oft-injured 35-year-old and the little-used sophomore. Though this could very well be a "low risk, high reward" type of deal should things go as planned for both teams.

Why, you ask?

KKS Trade Reaction: Dehesa to GlobalPort

Dehesa moving up
(Photo credit: Rivals.ph)

We honestly do not know what is going on with the GlobalPort Batang Pier. One day they look and sound like they genuinely wish to build something special; to become Playoff contenders, the next day we hear that the owner has been calling out his players/ employees on his personal Facebook page, the coach gets "benched/ demoted" and this guy or that guy is going to be sent to this team or that team by next conference.

Are they a farm team? Are they the new "Barako Bull" of the PBA? Will Stanley Pringle/ Terrence Romeo be able to build and cement their PBA legacies under one franchise?

Blackwater Rising

Who's the Man?
(Photo credit: PBA.Inquirer.net)

It took about a year or so plus a series of trades (lopsided at the time)  before Blackwater Elite's management and head coach Leo Isaac's patience finally paid off-- and how.

The Elite no longer appear lost on the hardcourt, with an obvious pecking order be it on offense or defense. Veteran point guard Mike Cortez (35mpg 10ppg 4rpg 6apg) leads the team and gets his youngsters Carlo Lastimosa (33mpg 30ppg 4rpg 3apg), JP Erram (18mpg 4rpg 1apg), Reil Cervantes (26mpg 20ppg 3rpg 1apg) and rookie Art dela Cruz (30mpg 12ppg 6rpg 3apg 4spg) in positions where they can be most effective. The addition of selfless, do-it-all import Malcom Rhett (45mpg 18ppg 15rpg 5apg) has also allowed the locals to flourish even more this PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Currently in the middle of the tournamenet with a 2 wins and 2 losses slate, the Elite are looking at making the Playoffs yet again after last conference's breakout performance which doesn't really seem too far-fetched all things considered.

See, Lastimosa has started to blossom as an elite PBA scorer, Erram's quickly becoming a decent, mobile 4-man with a pocket jumper, dela Cruz continues to make smart plays all over the court and, if we can see more of this "efficient" high-scoring Cervantes instead of the old ball-hogging, YOLO one, then the Elite could really do some damage against the more favored teams come playoff time.

If one were to nitpick, the Elite should consider developing a contingency plan should Cortez be sidelined in games (foul or injury). Currently on the roster as Cortez' back-up are Jerick Canada (a bit slow), Raffy Reyes (undisciplined), Almond Vosotros (shooter) and Juami Tiongson (blah)-- none of which, be it in the pros or amateurs, are even near Cortez' level of play. Another area of concern are the minutes being given the players mentioned above (import not included as this is expected of him), though they are all relatively young players so they shouldn't be burning out real soon.

Now if only our boy Almond can get some love from Coach Leo at the 2 spot...

PBAPC16 QF: 3 Rain or Shine vs 10 Blackwater

Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net

Talk about having to go through a Rite of Passage for the Blackwater Elite: though they just earned their first playoff appearance in their young franchise history, they find themselves with a twice-to-beat disadvantage versus perennial title contenders, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

Elite head coach Leo Isaac will need to squeeze all he can from main guys Carlo Lastimosa (23mpg 16ppg 3rpg 2apg), JP Erram (26mpg 12ppg 9rpg), Art dela Cruz (22mpg 11ppg 4rpg), Reil Cervantes (19mpg 9ppg 3rpg) and whoever among Raphy Reyes, Keith Agovida and Jason Melano are up to the challenge of locking horns with a physical RoS group.

A different air

Trying to live up to the name
(Photo credit to the owner)

It is beginning to smell a lot like Christmas for Coach Leo Isaac and the Blackwater Elite.

Though they are currently near the bottom of the PBA Philippine Cup standings with a 1 win - 4 losses record, the sophomore ballclub is starting to look and play like a legitimate professional basketball team instead of a whipping-boy expansion one. Save for that blowout loss to the streaking Rain or Shine Elastopainters, the Elite have managed to keep most of their games quite competitive and close with an average end game deficit of only 7 points per.

We do not really feel the need to remind anyone about the team's maiden campaign, and how brutal it was to watch them play on the court save for one Brian Heruela.

Nothing to see here

Still waiting for Garcia's break out year
(Photo credit to the owner)

Because really, are there actual fans of the following teams and not just of the individual players who were "carried over" from their idol's former squad?

Barako Bull Energy Cola
If only this team weren't so blatant in being the league's premier farm team, we would actually vouch for this line-up. RR Garcia, JC Intal, Mac Baracael, Jervy Cruz and either the old Mick Pennisi (seriously, this guy should consider retiring soon) or Prince Caperal. Then there are guys like Chico Lanete, Josh Urbiztondo, James Forrester, Emman Monfort and Willy Wilson coming off the bench. Okay, maybe they have a surplus of point guards, but this should make for an exciting run-and-gun squad right?

Right.

Who pads his stats first? Last season, it was Denok Miranda who was able to stat-pad his way out of the Energy camp. Will it be Intal, who is coming off a solid Gilas 3 stint? Will it be Garcia, the former UAAP MVP, who we thought would break out last season after being freed from the burden of having to play with college buddy/ rival Terrence Romeo only to learn that hey, maybe Garcia's not THAT special after all? Or will it be Baracael, who will most likely go back to his stretch four roots and remind us of how special a player he looked back when he played for Gilas I?

Your guess is as good as ours. Coach Koy Banal will make this team compete, but at day's end when they start winning someone's bound to pull the plug. Remember Joseph Yeo last conference? When he started running his mouth about how "free" they were? Yeah, he got traded soon. But not before BB's winning streak fizzled out..

#ThankYouKuyaMarcus

Gilas I is Douthit
(Photo credit to PhilStar.com)

For all the on and off court success enjoyed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' Gilas men's basketball program, we wouldn't fault the casual fan if they thought that it has always been this way form the very start.

Because quite honestly, it wasn't.

It took the addition of 6"11 US NCAA Division 1 standout Marcus Douthit of the Providence College Friars to get the program going from "just another basketball team" to "Asian basketball powerhouse" somewhere around 2009 to 2010.

See, the Gilas program was initially meant to do away with hastily forming a PBA All Star team whenever an international meet would come up. Most of the players who signed up for the program were fresh out of college: Mark Barroca, JVee Casio, Dylan Ababou, Mac Baracael and Chris Tiu. They then added some more names such as Japeth Aguilar, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz, but overall they were a bunch of snot-nosed college kids being asked to reclaim Asian basketball supremacy for the Philippines-- even if they were coached by Serbian Rajko Toroman.

Quite the tall order, really.

Troubled Waters

Reil "KOBE!" Cervantes.
Franchise player.
(Photo credit: Sports5.ph)

Here's where Blackwater Elite finds itself at the end of its maiden season:

Call them this year's biggest loser: PBA wins and losses -wise and also, 2015 PBA Draft -wise. The awful performance was expected, given the fact that the team was barred from making any direct hires from their promising PBA D-League roster and was pretty much asked to form a roster out of discards and no-names.

But then, the franchise's only glimmer of hope, their salvation, the coveted 2015 PBA Draft Number One Pick-- was foolishly sent in a hullabaloo of a trade which involved NLEX, Rain or Shine and Talk'n'Text.  The team lost its 1st pick to TNT to acquire the services of Larry Rodriguez.

#TankSoHard

Too good to be tanking, yes?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

The best thing to ever happen to Blackwater Elite's Marcus Douthit this PBA Governor's Cup, is the 2015 South East Asian Games where he is on loan to the Gilas Pilipinas team.

That's it.

Is he (still) paying for the sins of that disastrous post FIBA World Gilas stint in Korea? Wherein he bore the brunt of the blame, for being unable to do an Andray Blatche and basically carry a fatigued and injury-riddled team to a medal finish? Why on earth did he sign up with the Elite in the first place? Oh, yeah, the Team MVP ties which is becoming as clear as the team's bootleg Talk'n'Text jerseys.

We feel that Leo Isaac can coach in the PBA. We feel that Douthit (43 mpg 2- ppg 13 rpg 3 apg) still has some gas left in the tank.

Seven foot syndrome

Land of the Giants
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

There used to be a period in the Philippine Basketball Association wherein foreign reinforcements were hired mostly for their high-flying, prolific scoring and ultraelectromagnetic athleticism ways.

Nowadays?

We are seeing less and less of the pure "scorers" and more of the seven foot kind-- a testament to how far local basketball talent has come, and where we are currently left lacking.

Sure, there are 6"5 imports running around the league nowadays who are more do-it-all than gunslingers, but all eyes will always be given to the 7"0 specimens-- be it from the fans, media and even (and more importantly) opposing PBA teams.

Denied, Eliminated

Giants in the PBA
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

It's tough playing in the PBA-- with the demand and expectation of management, family, friends and fans. To try and play at a very high level, and once there, to maintain it all throughout a grueling season of limited respite and recluse.

While eight teams will carry on into the Playoff rounds of the ongoing PBA Commissioner's Cup, four will be denied entry. Three of which have already been made clear to the masses: newcomers Kia Carnival and Blackwater, and newly-minted PBA All Filipino Cup titlist San Miguel Beer. The fourth one will be decided later on today, if it's going to be the AFC 2nd placers Alaska, or Global Port (depending on how Alaska's match versus Barangay Ginebra turns out).

Silver lining of course is that the four eliminated teams of this conference (plus performance in the 1st conference, so there's some math to be done) will be allowed to bring in imports of unlimited height (compared to the Top 8's 6"5 ceiling) plus an Asian reinforcement of their choosing (6"4 ceiling).

Here we take a look at what went right and wrong for the three teams that have been eliminated, and how their chances are going into the next conference.

Trade reaction: Nuyles for Cervantes

Fair trade. Yes?
(Photo courtesy of Spin.ph)

We are for parity and fair basketball transactions.

That is why we cannot help but laud Kia Carnival and Blackwater Elite, both PBA newcomers, for the recent trade that basically addresses both teams' needs-- sending Alex Nuyles to the Carnival and Reil Cervantes to the Elite. No under the table shenanigans. No near-retirement veteran for up-and-coming star. No top draft picks and cash.

Just a basketball man's man trade featuring two guys who can help their new teams right away.

On paper at least.

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.