Only a few days left before the deadline for the application to the coming rooki draft and yet the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has failed to lure any big names or attracted big guns to the league.
Jason Brickman, DJ Fenner, Juan Gomez De Liano, Michael Philips, Geo Chiu, Will Gozum, Kobe Paras, Clint Escamis, Remy Martin, and 6-foot-10 Fil-Am CJ Lane may be considered as prime recruits, but half of them are already past their prime, while the other half will most likely choose to play elsewhere.
Brickman may have been on the radar of PBA teams since he first suited up for Alab Pilipinas in the 2019 ASEAN Basketball League, but he is already 33 years old. The Fil-Am guard who once led the US NCAA in assists during his time with Long Island University is already past his prime and is better off as a reserve guard in the next 2 to 3 years.
Before joining Strong Group Pilipinas, Fenner first made waves in Europe when he signed for five-time Hungarian champion club Alba Fehérvár in 2017. However, like Brickman, the 6-foot-5 playmaker is already 31-years old. There's not much that Fenner can do better than what the current crop of players has already done.
There are also reports that Fenner has submitted incomplete documents to the PBA and is now planning to skip this draft.
Even Gozun who has shown a flicker of brilliance during his college days is just a shadow of his former self after suffering a torn ACL and MCL last year. In his stint with the Quezon Huskers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), the 6-foot-4 bruiser is on a minutes cap, playing about 10 per game and averaging only 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Paras, who took a 2-year hiatus from basketball, reacted negatively to the PBA 3-year ban rule on players playing overseas. "damn pa draft sana ako ... i guess next time nalang," Paras replied to the PBA Instagram post.
The comment sparked speculation that the former University of the Philippines standout may now reconsider his plans to join the upcoming PBA Rookie Draft.
Phillips' application will depend on Commissioner Willie Marcial's request for the UAAP to allow its players to apply for the draft even during the course of its season - a luxury Mapua star Escamis can do under NCAA rules. Unfortunately for the PBA, UAAP will likely turn this down while Escamis has already signified his intention to remain with Mapua this season.
Gozum, Gomez de Liano, Chiu, and Lane are certain to join, but only Gozum is a proven commodity. Chiu is a role player. De Liano doesn't play team ball and will be lost in today's PBA, much like how Paul Desiderio wasn't able to live up to his hype. And Lane is big but unproven.
The lone bright sport is Martin. If, and that's a big IF, he decides to apply at all.
A high school star at powerhouse Sierra Canyon, Martin played college ball at Arizona State from 2017 to 2021 when he averaged 14.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 118 games.
But his stardom took off in Kansas where his heady playmaking and clutch 3 late led the Jayhawks past the University of North Carolina, 72-69, in the 2022 NCAA championship game.
Having recently recovered from an undisclosed injury, Martin was last seen in action as the leading scorer of the Keflavik ballclub that won the 2024 Icelandic Cup.
While Martin will definitely add star power in the PBA, a big hurdle to his entry is the pay because even as a top three pick, he won't be making more than PhP 420,000 a month in salary. More can be made through incentives and bonuses at the MVP Group or SMC bloc but as a high pick he will likely end up in the clutches of mediocre teams like Blackwater or Terrafirma.
So, the chances of seeing Martin in the PBA is almost close to zero.
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