NCAA stars shone on the first day of the PBA Draft Combine on Tuesday with the San Sebastian College-Recoletos duo of Kenneth Villapando and Rhinwil Yambing as well as University of Perpetual Help System DALTA's Kim Aurin making strong impressions.
Villapando clocked in 2.81 seconds to record the fastest time in the three-quarter sprint while Yambing, who will be foregoing his remaining year with the Stags, tallied the highest standing vertical leap with 34.5 inches.
Aurin, on the other hand, led four other aspirants in the reaction test with a perfect score of 100 alongside JC Cullar of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Enoch Valdez of Lyceum of the Philippines University, and John Gob of the University of the Philippines.
Alwin Margallo was the top performer in the agility test after clocking 11.53 seconds.
San Beda University's 6-foot-7 bruiser Clifford Jopia emerged as the tallest applicant while Raphael Mallari and Ryan Costelo, both standing at 5-foot-5, came out as the smallest in the hopefuls.
Former San Beda big man and ex-Gilas prospect Kemark Cariño had the longest reach of 105 inches and wingspan of 86 inches.
There are 128 applicants for the upcoming PBA Draft, which will be held on September 17.
NCAA Season 99 will begin on September 24.
Games will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 pm and 4 pm, while Saturday games will be played at 9:30 am and 3:00 pm. Sunday games will have triple-headers at 10:00 am, 12:20 am, and 2:40 pm. Games can be accessed through different platforms of GMA Network.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News
