The dust of the PBA Season 50 Draft has settled, and Geo Chiu, the former Ateneo Blue Eagle and Gilas Pilipinas call-up, heard his name called first by the Terrafirma Dyip. Chiu’s selection as the top overall pick ultimately set the stage for an unpredictable night that also saw highly touted Fil-American Jason Brickman finally make it to the PBA.
With that being said, we can start unpacking the PBA Season 50 Draft a little more in-depth, starting with who won and who lost on draft night.
Winner: Juan Gomez de Liaño
Gomez de Liaño appeared headed for the basketball hell that is playing for the Terrafirma Dyip as the draft’s most PBA-ready prospect. But true to form, the Terrafirma bigwigs showed their ineptitude and picked a big man—Geo Chiu—who would’ve gone undrafted if he were 6-foot-5 as opposed to 6-foot-9. Now Gomez de Liaño could potentially compete for a championship as he goes to a team stacked with talent in the Converge FiberXers and an ownership group that is miles better than the Dyip’s.
Loser: Terrafirma Dyip
Not only did the Dyip miss out on an exciting young scorer in Gomez de Liaño, but they are also stuck with a project who may or may not pan out in the course of two years (supposedly the number of years Chiu must stay with Terrafirma before he can be moved). No offense to Chiu as he may yet turn out to be a decent player, but it’s looking like his ceiling isn’t too high to begin with.
Loser: Geo Chiu
In fairness again to Chiu, he’s probably not going No. 1 in any draft where the big names are out and about. Now, he’s been put between a rock and a hard place as the top overall pick of this batch. That’s a lofty standing for someone so raw and so unproven, and complicating matters is that he’ll be playing for a franchise that has shown nothing but ineptitude. Not exactly the right environment for a prospect to develop into at least a good player.
Winner: Converge FiberXers
Of course, Terrafirma’s loss is Converge’s gain. Already with two of the PBA’s premier young guards in Alec Stockton and Schonny Winston, the FiberXers now get to add the dynamic Gomez de Liaño, whose shooting and playmaking are sure to open up the floor even more for Converge bigs Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar. Good luck defending a three-guard lineup of JGDL, Stockton, and Winston. Even the FiberXers’ second-round pick, Kobe Monje, appears to have the physical tools to be a contributor.
Winner: Meralco Bolts
When you get a top-three-type talent at No. 7, you’re definitely a winner. That’s what happened to the Bolts, who drafted the most experienced, most decorated player of this draft—Jason Brickman—as the seventh overall pick. Brickman is the kind of top-flight point guard whom Luigi Trillo can trust to handle chief playmaking duties and move Chris Newsome off the ball. Even Meralco’s second-round pick, athletic wing Vince Magbuhos, might turn out to be a steal.
Loser: Dalph Panopio
If playing for Terrafirma is akin to being in basketball hell, playing for the Blackwater Bossing might be the equivalent of being in hoops purgatory. That’s the situation the highly touted Panopio, for years touted to be a potential Gilas Pilipinas call-up, now finds himself in after getting drafted third overall by Jeffrey Cariaso and his staff. An added complication is that Panopio will have to share the ball with Sedrick Barefield, Blackwater’s ball-dominant lead guard.
Loser: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Sonny Estil may yet turn out to be a good pro someday. Even Mario Barasi Jr. might pan out into a solid big in the future. But neither is anywhere near ready right now to be the needle-mover Ginebra needs to finally break out of its championship slump. Then again, in a draft short on big names, drafting outside the top six is essentially hit-or-miss territory.
Winner: LA Tenorio
This is Tinyente’s first draft as head coach, and he did well in picking not just for talent but for need. Yukien Andrada is the kind of stretch playmaking four who’d theoretically excel in Tenorio’s Triangle-Princeton hybrid, and he figures to help right away. Rookie coaches sometimes make the mistake of swinging for the fences early and doing something drastic; Tenorio kept his wits about him and got the safe pick for his Magnolia Hotshots.
Winner: Jason Brickman
Lastly, we’ll circle back to the aforementioned Brickman, who for years had been trying to make it to the PBA only to be denied time and time again by lacking documents. But he’s finally here now, and he’ll be playing for a topnotch organization in the Meralco Bolts. He’ll also have some weapons at his disposal, from Chris Newsome to Chris Banchero, Bong Quinto to Aaron Black, and Brandon Bates and Raymund Almazan. That’s a pretty good situation to be in for a pass-firsy point guard known for making teammates better.
