The Top Producing Rookies in the PBA Bubble

It has been two weeks since the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup restarted inside the Clark bubble and we're almost at the halfway point of the elimination round. We've seen many players putting up high-scoring performances in Clark and among those who showed are the top rookies from the 2019 rookie draft class led by Roosevelt Adams of the TerraFirma Dyip.

Despite his team winless record after four games inside the bubble, Roosevelt Adams is slowly showing why he was the top pick in the 2019 PBA Rookie Draft despite a slow start to his career. He is the second-leading scorer of the Dyip with an 11-point per game average behind CJ Perez who is the leading scorer of the PBA thus far with a 25-point per game average. Adams is also averaging seven rebounds and is shooting a team-leading 42% from the three-point line. In their game against the NorthPort Batang Pier, Adams came off the bench and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

During his collegiate career in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), Barkley Ebona has been known as a big man who doesn't back down from any challenge down low and that's exactly what he brings for the Alaska Aces. Against the San Miguel Beermen last Saturday, the fourth pick in the 2019 draft co-led the Aces in scoring with 18 points to go along with five rebounds, a steal, and a block while shooting 81% from the field. In the six games of their campaign, Ebona is averaging 10 points and three rebounds while leading Alaska in field goal shooting (75%). 

During last year's draft, the NLEX Road Warriors and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters selected Mike Ayonayon and Adrian Wong as the third and fifth picks respectively. Both Ayonayon and Wong came off from championship-winning teams as Ayonayon was the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) while Wong was a vital cog in Ateneo's three-peat run last year. Now playing in the professional ranks, Ayonayon and Wong have shown glimpses of what their future looks like. 

Mike Ayonayon has proven that he's more than ready to play in the PBA as he finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and a steal in their game against the Blackwater Elite last October 17. Even though NLEX lost that game, it's noticeable that he played the second-most minutes (28 minutes) and it's a sign that Coach Yeng Guiao trusts his rookie.  Ayonayon is now the Road Warriors' third-leading scorer- putting up eight points per game and those who watched him play in the MPBL know he can score more. 

Adrian Wong, on the other hand, came from a loaded Ateneo Blue Eagles squad in the collegiate wars and is one of the four rookies Coach Caloy Garcia has on his team. While he's only averaging seven points in his first four PBA games, he has come through for his team on multiple occasions. The perfect example is their controversial win against the NorthPort Batang Pier where the team's leading scorer in Javee Mocon was limited to only six points. Wong came off the bench and finished with 15 points and a steal.

Fortunately, we can expect more productions from these rookies as the all-Filipino conference goes along. As Caloy Garcia said in last Saturday's episode of Bull By the Horn by Benny Benitez, "They're (the rookies) a big help in the sense that you have to have fresh legs"   

Photo is from the PBA