Kia needs an import.
Believe that.
So whether they keep this pick or trade it selection for a… starting lineup, Standhardinger should be their man.
Why would you pass on Standhardinger?
And let me just say this: If TNT has Jayson Castro… and Meralco has Baser Amer… then NLEX come draft time needs to have Kiefer Ravena. Yeng Guiao is doing his best to create a bizzaro-Red Bull/Rain or Shine concoction and adding Ravena to the mix would definitely turn the Road Warriors into contenders. Besides, it’s not like Ravena didn’t do his best to dazzle Asia with his brand of play. And that’s another reason to keep Ravena in the MVP circle – because he could be the second coming of The Blur.
And can you imagine Jeron Teng posing like a goof with Christian Bautista singing in the background alongside a 10-foot body spray… with arms and feet and even eyes? Well… I know I would! But this second generation star isn’t just about the “face value”. The former DLSU Green Archer plays to win and knows how to win.
Could Jeron Teng give Blackwater the offensive upgrade?
Or better yet… will Kia shock the basketball world by keeping the pick and selecting Teng instead?
So many questions!
And with less than 20 days left, this is my final mock draft!
| 1 | KIA PICANTO | Christian Standhardinger | Hawaii | C/F |
| AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS | 2017 SEAG GOLD MEDAL WINNER | |||
| 2017 FIBA ASIA CUP STATS | 16.0PPG / 5.7RPG / 0.7SPG / 63FG% | |||
After Manny Pacquiao (hahaha) and Russel Escoto, Kia finally selected a game changer. Kia finally has a dominating inside presence that could post import-like numbers for the Philippine Cup.
Yes, that’s the operative term: The Philippine Cup.
Even if they trade him for picks… I assume Kia would release him for a boat load of assets. But then, Kia is going to draft a 28-year-old rookie. And if Standhardinger had a bit of trouble playing for the multi-titled Chot Reyes, what more with Chris Gavina?
And whatever happened to his ABL contract?
| 2 | NLEX | Kiefer Ravena | ADMU | PG |
| AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS | 4-TIME SEAG GOLD MEDAL WINNER
2-TIME UAAP CHAMPION 2-TIME UAAP MVP 3-TIME UAAP MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM UAAP SEASON 74 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR |
|||
| CAREER UAAP STATS | 16.3PPG / 5.2RPG / 3.9APG / 1.3SPG / 39FG% | |||
Are you ready for a Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas backcourt?
This high-leaping combo guard with a high basketball IQ may enter the league as a newcomer but he has had stints with Mighty Sports, Alab Pilipinas, the Texas Legends camp, and most importantly Gilas Pilipinas. The MVP Group keeps The Phenom which means he’s readily available for Gilas Pilipinas campaigns.
I guess the only problem Ravena would have is Yeng Guiao.
Yeng Guiao… hates superstars.
| 3 | BW | JERON TENG | DLSU | G/F |
| AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS | 2-TIME UAAP CHAMPION
4-TIME UAAP MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM 2-TIME UAAP FINALS MVP UAAP SEASON 75 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR |
|||
| CAREER UAAP STATS | 16.9PPG / 6.2RPG / 3.0APG / 39.8FG% | |||
Jeron Teng is a smaller version of his Robocop dad Alvin Teng… with quickness, athleticism, and range! The former DLSU Green Archer plays like a winner and knows how to win. If Blackwater plays its cards right, the triumvirate of Allein Maliksi, Mac Belo, and Jeron Teng could be a force in the future.
But if Teng plays for Blackwater, he needs to realize the reality of losing seasons. Maybe his winning culture would rub on his teammates? And then there’s Blackwater’s over-reliance with the three-point shot, and outside shooting isn’t really his strong suit.
| 4 | PHX | RAYMAR JOSE | FEU | C/F |
| AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS | 1-TIME SEAG GOLD MEDAL WINNER
1-TIME UAAP CHAMPION 1-TIME UAAP MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM 2017 PBA D-LEAGUE FOUNDATION CUP MVP |
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| UAAP SEASON 79 STATS | 11.1PPG / 11.0RPG / 1.4APG / 36.3FG% | |||
Raymar Jose is pretty much the Troy Rosario of this draft. Phoenix needs to strengthen their frontline and while he’s not that big but he can board like hell.
It took time for him to blossom in FEU and regardless of whether he’ll be a project or a PBA-ready workhorse, expect Phoenix to improve with his presence.
But then he needs to bulk up. And while the Tamaraws have transformed into excellent international players, his batch has struggled in the PBA.
So I’m going to just do the first four players that I think would make up the top four picks. Sure, there’s a hint of procrastination and laziness here… but I’ll make things up with a couple of “Zero Ins”.
Check out the articles I did for Davon Potts, Raymar Jose, Jett Manuel, Christian Standhardinger, and Jeron Teng.
With that said… check these picks out.
THE FIRST ROUND
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | COLLEGE |
| 1 | KIA | STANDHARDINGER, CHRISTIAN | HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS |
| 2 | NLEX | RAVENA, KIEFER | ATENEO BLUE EAGLES |
| 3 | BW | TENG, JERON | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS |
| 4 | PHX | JOSE, RAYMAR | FEU TAMARAWS |
| 5 | ALA (GLO) | POTTS, DAVON | SAN BEDA RED LIONS |
| 6 | GLO (ALA) | PERKINS, JASON | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS |
| 7 | ROS | FLORES, LERVIN | ARELLANO CHIEFS |
| 8 | PHX (MER) | NAMBATAC, REY | LETRAN KNIGHTS |
| 9 | STAR | HERNDON, ROBBIE | SAN FRANCISCO ST. GATORS |
| 10 | TNT | MANUEL, JETT | UP FIGHTING MAROONS |
| 11 | TNT (PHX via SMB) | CAHILIG, ANDREAS | EARIST RED FOXES |
| 12 | GIN | SARGENT, JULIAN | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS |
And here are the rest of my mock draft.
THE SECOND ROUND
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | COLLEGE |
| 13 | NLEX (GIA via MER via KIA) | ONWUBERE, SIDNEY | EAC GENERALS |
| 14 | STAR (KIA via NLEX) | DAGANGON, GAB | PERPETUAL HELP ALTAS |
| 15 | BW (NLEX via BW) | TALLO, MAC | SWU COBRAS |
| 16 | STAR (via PHX) | GABAYNI, JOSEPH | LYCEUM PIRATES |
| 17 | GLO | NICHOLLS, ZACH | ARELLANO CHIEFS |
| 18 | PHX (ALA vs PHX) | TORRES, THOMAS | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS |
| 19 | ROS | VIGIL, LOUIE | UST GROWLING TIGERS |
| 20 | GLO (MER) | GROSPE, JOHN ERVIN | JRU HEAVY BOMBERS |
| 21 | PHX (STAR) | BRINGAS, ARVIE | FEU TAMARAWS |
| 22 | TNT | SARA, DAN | SAN BEDA RED LIONS |
| 23 | PHX (SMB) | APREKU, FELIX | LETRAN KNIGHTS |
| 24 | GIN | BALTAZAR, WILSON | LYCEUM PIRATES |
THE THIRD ROUND
| PICK | TEAM | PLAYER | COLLEGE |
| 25 | KIA | ARONG, MONBERT | FEU TAMARAWS |
| 26 | NLEX | NALOS, JOSEPH | ADAMSON FALCONS |
| 27 | BW | BULAWAN, JEBB | LYCEUM PIRATES |
| 28 | PHX | PALMA, RENZ | UE RED WARRIORS |
| 29 | GLO | JUICO, MICHAEL | SAN SEBASTIAN STAGS |
| 30 | ALA | CASINO, JK | CEU SCORPIONS |
| 31 | ROS | MORALDE, DAVE | UP FIGHTING MAROONS |
| 32 | MER | SOLLANO, JOM | LETRAN KNIGHTS |
| 33 | STAR | SUMIDO, JR | UE RED WARRIORS |
| 34 | TNT | CAPACIO, GWYNE | ATENEO BLUE EAGLES |
| 35 | SMB | ENGUIO, EBRAHIM | UE RED WARRIORS |
| 36 | GIN | NEYPES, KYLE | NU BULLDOGS |
Okay so I had Davon Potts going to Alaska because the Aces are in need of offense because they spent this season trading away their shooting guards (Cyrus Baguio and RJ Jazul), waiting for their players to heal up (JV Casio, Vic Manuel, and Sonny Thoss), hoping to get better outputs from their supporting cast (Nonoy Baclao, Jaypee Mendoza and Kevin Racal), and unfortunately… a way to reduce the pain of losing Calvin Abueva.
And yeah, Alaska will swap picks with GlobalPort!
For the sixth pick, I have Jason Perkins for the Batang Pier. Sure, he’s a DLSU guy but GlobalPort is also stacked with guards. Perkins could be their baby version of Eric Menk with Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle emulating the Ginebra Bandanna Brothers circa 2004.
Ditto for Rain or Shine needs an additional big man to support their speedsters and Lervin Flores is the next best big from the pack.
Phoenix is going to get Rey Nambatac… but part of me thinks that they are going to package this for future picks. The Fuel Masters have five picks in the first two rounds and teams like Alaska, Kia, Blackwater, and even San Miguel could use another first rounder to shore up their roster.
Star would use their pick to snag either Nambatac or Robbie Herndon. The Hotshots will miss the services of Paul Lee for a considerable amount of time and they made a blunder when they traded away Allein Maliksi. Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon, Peter June Simon, and the much improved Rome dela Rosa could fill up that spot but they need another player to provide depth.
The two TNT picks could go to Kia if they are that bent of getting the rights of Standhardinger. I’m pretty sure it will involve a veteran like Moala Tautuaa or Asi Taulava (which means they need to involve NLEX), a key support a la Norbert Torres (who never saw action for TNT), and one of these two picks. Jett Manuel could end on TNT but Andreas Cahilig has that Chris Ellis vibe with a more pronounced outside shot.
And lastly, the proverbial black hole in the draft is the Ginebra pick. Tim Cone is happy with his squad at the moment and he could just elevate the gameplay of his young stars like Scottie Thompson, Kevin Ferrer, and Aljon Mariano. But perhaps Cone is interested in padding his team with a player like Julian Sargent… or even Thomas Torres just in case they need an extra point guard to fill up the slot vacated with the retirement of Jayjay Helterbrand.
Am I a prediction wasteland?
Check out the actual draft on October 29!
PROJECT SYDRIFIED WP 