The Experts' Picks: Who is Winning this Year's Recruitment War in College Basketball?

To be able to win a championship in any basketball league whether it's the professional ranks or at the collegiate level, you will need the best line-up of talented players who can also fit into the system that the coach is running with. That's where the complicated process of recruitment of players comes into play especially in college basketball that was the main topic of last night's seventh episode of "Bull By the Horn" by Benny Benitez.

During the latter parts of last night's discussion that included returning De La Salle University Green Archers Head Coach Derrick Pumaren, renowned sportswriters in Rick Olivares, and Rico Navarro who is also the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Region Seven, die-hard La Salle fan in Vince Juico and, Philippine SuperLiga (PSL) Chairman Philip Juico, Olivares and Navarro were asked to reveal their top ten recruits in both the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and as it turned out, Olivares and Navaro almost had an identical list of top recruits for this year.

Leading the way in Olivares' list is Dwight Ramos of the four-peat seeking Ateneo Blue Eagles. Following the newest Blue Eagle are Mac Guadana of Lyceum, Karl Quiambao who is set to play under Pumaren in La Salle, three University of the Philippines-bound young guns in Carl Tamayo, Gerry Abadiano, and RC Calimag. RJ Abarrientos of Far Eastern University (FEU), Clint Esamis of the University of the East, Bismack Lina of the University of Santo Tomas, and San Beda's Justine Sanchez also made it to Olivares' top ten recruits of 2020.

While Navarros's list included Ramos, Tamayo, Abadiano, and Calimag being the players that are also on Olivares' list, the SBP Regional Director for Region Seven also included La Salle's brother tandem of Michael and Benjamin Philips, Miguel Tan who is set to join State U, Kevin Gubao of FEU, and Ice Blanco Hontiveros who is yet to be recruited. 

Both Olivares and Navarro tagged Dwight Ramos as the biggest recruit of this year's recruitment war in the collegiate league but that wasn't the only thing that both gentlemen agreed on as they also tagged the Fighting Maroons of UP and Pumaren's Green Archers as the team who won the recruitment wars based on the amount of talent that they are able to add into their firepower with Navarro also adding the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates and the San Beda Red Lions as winners too. 

The reason for the picks is simple: both UP and La Salle are able to recruit the vast majority of the blue-chip talents that in Olivares' books, can help the teams win a championship. 

In the end, the panelists in last night's episode agreed that you cannot really say that this team is already good to go with all the blue-chip recruits it was able to get in the off-season until you see them play in the preseason leagues or during the early goings of the season. More importantly, it all boils down to how these recruits can level up their respective game to be able to play competitively in the collegiate ranks. As they said, "College is a different level."

Screenshot is from the Facebook page of pinoyliga.com