97 Aspirants Make Talent-Rich 2021 Draft Pool

  • Jan 28, 2021
  • BASKETBALL
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It's official: the upcoming 2021 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft is going to have the most number of aspirants hoping to be drafted come March 14, 2021.

Joshua Munzon, Jaime Malanzo, and Calvin Oftana led a pool of 97 aspirants who submitted their applications as the January 27 deadline came. The number of draft hopefuls for this year surpassed the number that the 2014 draft pool had which was 91. Of course, that class was led by Stanley Pringle. 

Also included in this year's draft pool are current members of the Gilas Pilipinas pool such as William Navarro and Jaydee Tungcab but since the league agreed on holding a special Gilas Pilipinas draft before the regular draft, expect some of the big names to be picked for the national team program.

There are many factors that contributed to the number of aspirants who are hoping to be drafted on March 14 and one of the factors is the uncertainties particularly at the collegiate level where seniors have made the difficult choice to forego their final year and join the draft. There's no clear picture yet as to whether or not there will be college basketball this year as the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic is still making things difficult for everyone. 

Aside from the former collegiate standouts, this year's draft pool will also feature players from the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 

While this is a deep draft pool, this will not feature some big names too.

For one, Justine Baltazar has decided to stay with the De La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) while Alab Pilipinas' Jason Brickman will have to wait until next year as the current situation prevented him to fly back home and submit his requirements.

The pool will still undergo a screening process and the league will release a final list of eligible applicants by March 9, 2021. 

The 2021 PBA Rookie Draft is set on March 14, 2021, and will be held virtually. 

Photo is from Rappler