JV Casio and Paul Lee.
With basically a guard loaded PBA Rookie Draft, the names of both
Casio and Lee have emerged as the consensus top two picks in the
annual proceedings set on Sunday at the Robinsons Place Manila.
Casio specifically, has been on the radar of several teams owing
solely to his brilliant backcourt manning of Smart Gilas-Pilipinas.
Even Ato Agustin, coach of newly crowned Governors Cup champion
Petron, covets the services of the 5-foot-10 Casio or the 6-foot Lee.
“Ako JV (Casio) or (Paul) Lee. Yun, e kung aabot sa amin,” he said,
resigned to the fact that with the Boosters picking at no. 8, there is
no way will he ever get to tab either one of the two heady and hot
shooting point guards.
Junel Baculi, the comebacking mentor of Bakaro Bull (formerly Air21)
also has Casio and Lee high on his list, but would rather keep to his
chest whom the Energy Boosters will be selecting with the no. 3 pick
“With no dominant big man available, you can see who are the possible
top five picks,” said the coach with the booming voice, mentioning
aside from the two, Smart Gilas stalwarts Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz
and Mac Baracael, but not necessarily in that order.
Bo Perasol, whose Powerade Tigers owned the top overall pick,
acknowledges Casio as a top bet for the slot. Like Baculi however,
he’d rather keep the suspense as well on Draft day.
“Well, there’s no question na malaki ang kakulangan namin sa guard
spot,” said Perasol. “So Casio is definitely a strong contender. He is
one of the best talents out there.”
Outside of the names rattled off by the three coaches, there may
proved to be aspirants who may end up to be this year’s Draft
`sleeper’ the way a Larry Fonacier did in 2005 or Rob Labagala or John
Wilson just a year ago.
Julius Pascualado, a native of Cebu but grew up in the U.S., already
got the attention of some coaches following his impressive showing in
the three-day Rookie Camp.
And then there’s the tried and tested amateurs in the likes of
national players Mark Barroca, Dylan Ababou and Jason Ballesteros,
shooting guard Eric Salamat of three-time UAAP men’s basketball
champion Ateneo, James Martinez, a University of the East teammate of
Lee, FEU’s Reil Cervantes, and Santo Tomas’ Allein Maliksi, the first
ever MVP of the PBA D-League.
Ballesteros, at 6-foot-6, is just one of the few legitimate center
available in the Draft.
“He can be a good prospect,” said Bong Ramos, an assistant of Baculi
with Barako Bull, of the former San Sebastian stalwart. “He may not
score that much points, but the guy can rebound, block shots, and
intimidate inside.”
Meanwhile, John Marc Agustin scored 22 points as Alaska-Yellow
defeated Powerade- Blue, 87-70, at the close of the three-day rookie
camp at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The scores:
Alaska-Yellow – Agustin 22, Acibar 12, Lee 10, Ababon 7, Cervantes 7,
Magbanua 5, Sorongon 4, Martinez 4, Cagoco 4, Resopa 4, Graebel 3,
Montaniel 3, Chamberlain.
Powerade 70 – Maliksi 13, Mepana 11, Bulawan 11, Concepcion 6, Pestano
5, Lapus 5, Sison 5, Medenilla 4, Pascualado 4, Ilad 3, Raymundo 2,
Salamat 1, Fernandez 0, Nabong 0, Cabonce 0.
Quarters: 25-20; 51-38; 67-54; 87-70.(pr)
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