Gozum, Chiu lead final draft roster
MPBL players led by projected first-rounders Will Gozum and Geo Chiu make up a bulk of 128 hopefuls that were able to submit their applications for the PBA Rookie Draft slated Sept. 7 at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
Gozum and Chiu are among the 71 applicants from the regional league who are hoping to be chosen by teams in the annual proceedings that will start with Terrafirma picking first overall.
Gozum, a product of College of St. Benilde and was once an NCAA Most Valuable Player, currently plays for Quezon, while Chiu, the ex-Ateneo and Gilas Pilipinas member and one-time B.League second division import, is with league-leader Abra.
Both players are among those likely to be eyed by Phoenix, which owns the No. 2 selection. New coach Willy Wilson had said that the Fuel Masters’ main priority is to select someone who could add frontcourt depth.
Chiu stands at 6-foot-10, while Gozum is at 6-foot-6. Phoenix’s tallest player is 6-foot-7 Kai Ballungay, who is coming off an impressive rookie campaign in Season 49.
“Our primary option would be somebody who can probably hold his own down low without requiring a double team or help defense,” Wilson said during an appearance on the program of ex-PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
Other notable MPBL mainstays joining the Draft are CJ Austria, formerly of La Salle and is also with Abra, and Quezon’s L-Jay Gonzales, who hails from Far Eastern University.
Jason Brickman, also considered as one of the early picks, had a one-game stint with Abra early in the year. The 5-foot-10 guard also holds the distinction as the oldest applicant at 33 years old.
Brickman is one of seven players who are at least 30, joining Archie Yu (32), Joseph Celso (32), Chris Miller (32), Achie Inigo (31), Riordan Galicia (30) and Alfred Sedillo (30). Brickman and Miller are also among the 22 aspirants considered as Filipino foreigners in the Draft.
Also in that group are Kascius Small-Martin, who played in The Asian Tournament, former UAAP players Chris Koon of Ateneo and Jack Cruz-Dumont of University of the East, Cole Micek and Qatar-based Jacey Cruz, also the youngest to join the Draft at 21.
Filipino players born or raised abroad and who have foreign nationalities are only required to submit a Philippine passport to be eligible.
Seventeen applicants are set to play in the NCAA Season 101, which opens in October, with San Beda’s Yukien Andrada and College of St. Benilde’s Tony Ynot leading the way.
Former University of the Philippines star Juan Gomez de Liano is one of only a handful of applicants who had experience overseas after playing in Japan, Lithuania and South Korea.
Applicants will take part in a two-day Draft Combine on Thursday.
