MANILA, Philipppines – Blackwater nabbed a potential franchise cornerstone in Mac Belo, while the Star Hotshots added another guard to their already loaded backcourt when they selected Jiovani Jalalon in the special draft for Gilas Cadet players.
The selections made by the team governors during a lengthy meeting last Thursday were made official on Sunday at Robinsons Place Manila in front of thousands of fans, who packed four floors of the mall to watch the 2016 PBA Rookie Draft.
Lots of fans watching the Draft pic.twitter.com/78eW3n5D82
— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) October 30, 2016
The 12 members of the Gilas Cadet pool were selected ahead of the "regular" draft. The order of selection was not announced. Instead, picks were declared in alphabetical order, with Alaska going first.
The Aces selected Carl Bryan Cruz, a gritty forward from Far Eastern University (FEU).
Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile, selected Kevin Ferrer, the versatile swingman from University of Santo Tomas (UST) who led the Growling Tigers to the Finals of the UAAP Season 78 tournament, wherein he also earned Mythical Five honors.
Ginebra's selection of Ferrer was not without controversy, as reports came out the day before the Draft that they had traded him to Star in exchange for Jalalon. However, Ginebra stood by their pick and took the former King Tiger.
After Blackwater confirmed its selection of Belo, the GlobalPort Batang Pier added another scoring guard by taking Von Pessumal.
Mahindra selected FEU's Russel Escoto, while Meralco picked former UST guard Ed Daquioag, and the NLEX Road Warriors took big man Fonso Gotladera.
Phoenix then selected Matthew Wright, with the Fil-Canadian guard reuniting with coach Ariel Vanguardia, who was his mentor in the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the ABL.
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters picked Mike Tolomia, the high-scoring guard from FEU who also shone for Phoenix in the PBA D-League.
Defending All-Filipino Cup champions San Miguel Beer added another big man in Arnold Van Opstal, who will be reunited with former college coach and now SMB team manager Gee Abanilla in the PBA.
Star then confirmed its selection of Jalalon, while TNT KaTropa took FEU's Roger Pogoy.
The Gilas players cannot be traded for two seasons, as per the agreement between the PBA and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. These players will also be called up in preparation for the national team's upcoming international games.
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