The FIBA Basketball World Cup has delayed the 48th season opening to October — or after the Asian Games. This means that the annual draft will take place sometime in September.
The move to have this done was approved by the Philippine Basketball Association’s Board of Governors since the FIBA World Cup will conclude on the 10th of September. This also set a great environment for draft picks where the players are top-notch in their field.
However, the PBA taking quite a long pause — a five-month break — was to give way to the Gilas training for them to play in the FIBA World Cup. This also makes it possible for them to test the waters overseas and decide whether or not to apply.
It’s important to note that under the PBA rules if a player is eligible and does not join the draft — he has the option to apply within three years through a lottery. Should the player decline to apply within three years, he will be required to sit out two additional years before reacquiring eligibility to join the draft.
You might want to read: Final Qualified Countries for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
PBA Commissioner’s take on certain PBA rules
Willie Marcial, current PBA commissioner was ready to say that he’s not against draft eligibles playing abroad and foregoing applying to join the league. If it’s for their future and the benefits are rewarding, why not? OFWs sacrifice to leave their families and home for the same reason. Marcial noted that the sit-out rule may be revisited soon.
Why penalize a draft-eligible for playing abroad when he isn’t able to secure the same kind of remuneration in the PBA? And when the player decides to come home and apply for the PBA draft, why shouldn’t the league open its doors for him to join at any time? The sit-out rule seems to be a penalty or deterrent for players to stay abroad for more than three years and it goes against a basic human right to decide one’s livelihood.
An important case is that of Thirdy Ravena. Currently, he’s in his third season in the Japanese B-League. If he doesn’t apply for the draft this year, he’ll be made to sit out two more years before regaining eligibility. If he decides to join the PBA after four years in Japan would it be fair for PBA to ban him from joining until he completes a five-year sit-out?
Another PBA rule that needs to be pondered on is the maximum age limit of 30 for Fil-foreigners to join the draft. No age is indicated for locals. A player can join the PBA only via the draft process. What if after the NBA, Jordan Clarkson decides to go back and play in the PBA?
PBA Draft hot picks
This year’s draft picks feature the eligible rookies namely:
| Justine Baltazar | James Kwekuteye |
| Ricci Rivero | Kemark Carino |
| Fran Yu | Zavier Lucero |
| Will Gozum | Jeremy Arthur |
| BJ Andrade | Lawrence Domingo |
| Raffy Verano | Brandon Bates |
| Deschon Winston | Keith Datu |
| Sedrick Barefield | Warren Bonifacio |
| King Caralipio | |
| Luis Villegas |
And any of the collegiate stars playing overseas like:
| Ravena |
| Dwight Ramos |
| Kobe Paras |
| Dave Ildefonso |
| RJ Abarrientos |
| Justin Gutang |
| Rhenz Abando |
| Juan Gomez de Liaño |
Would you like us to feature more details on each player on our pages? Just let us know in the comment section below and we’ll get right down to it. Hope to hear from you soon! Cheers!
