PBA Agrees on a Special Gilas Draft

In the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft, Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, Mike Nieto, and Matt Nieto were all picked in the Gilas Pilipinas draft that allowed the national team program to kickstart its preparation for the 2023 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup and beyond.

That scenario will happen again in the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft that is set on March 14, 2021.

According to NorthPort Batang Pier Team Governor Erick Arejola who spoke on Tuesday's Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) online forum, the league has agreed on allowing the national team to make the first picks among the deepest draft class in recent memory which will help the program in terms of growing the pool of players available for national; team duties.

"By the end of submission for rookie applicants, we'll find out who Gilas will pick like last year,"  Arejola explained.

He also added that it will also be up to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP)  on how many draft aspirants the federation will select to continue beefing up the Gilas pool.  "The process would be: the final list of the players will be submitted by the PBA to the SBP, and that's the time when they will decide on how many players they will elevate to Gilas,"

Incidentally, Gilas pool members Calvin Oftana, William Navarro, and Jaydee Tungcab are joining the draft proceedings this year. The deadline for aspirants to submit their applications is on Wednesday, January 27.  

Photo is from Team Pilipinas