Terrafirma, Rain or Shine make the most of PBA Rookie Draft pool
TEAMS with multiple picks such as Terrafirma and Rain or Shine (ROS) made the most of the rich PBA Rookie Draft pool to beef up for the coming Season 48 wars.
The Dyip drafted fancied Fil-Am guard Stephen Holt at No. 1 then selected TJ Miller (12th) in the first round and Kemark Carino (13th) and Louie Sangalang (22nd) in the second. They went on to pick John Bahio, Tommy Olivario, Damie Cuntapay, Kenneth Villapando, Jeric Pido and Enrique Caunan before calling it a night in the proceedings that featured a record 124 applicants.
“We got the best talent,” Terrafirma coach John Cardel said of G-League and Euro leagues veteran Mr. Holt, who is expected to arrive in Manila at the end of the week. ”
With their other picks, Mr. Cardel said they’re filling up the team’s need for shooters, wingmen, bangers, enforcers and role players.
Owner of the third and fourth selections, the Elasto Painters went for big men Luis Villegas and Keith Datu before picking Sherwin Concepcion, JC Cullar and Larry Arpia.
ROS also drafted Henry Galinato in the Round 2 but is set to ship the UP frontliner to TNT for a future draft pick.
“We are happy with our picks. I think this batch is a good batch to stack up on big men. Our bigs, they’re getting a little older so we need a new generation of big men,” said ROS coach Yeng Guiao.
“We’re hoping they can take over. It’s a good time to mentor these young guys and maybe transfer some knowledge and some experience to these guys for the adjustment.” — Olmin Leyba
