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PBA: ‘Protect 12’ picks for Talk ’N Text, Air21, San Mig Coffee, GlobalPort and San Miguel Beer
Last week, the PBA announced that they were reducing the number of players its current 10 franchises were allowed to save in the upcoming expansion draft for NLEX, Blackwater and Kia, from 14 to 12.
The move was in response to requests for additional concessions from the newest members; they also asked for direct hires but were denied, but got additional draft picks as well.
While teams won’t be making decisions based on who to protect until after the Governors’ Cup, because squad can still change between now and then, we figured we’d give them some early help. In part two of a two-part series, Job De Leon picks 12 players to save from the ranks of the Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, Air21 Express, San Mig Coffee Mixers, GlobalPort Batang Pier and the San Miguel Beermen.
Agree with his selections? Let us know in the comments.
TALK 'N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
- Jayson Castro
- Jimmy Alapag
- Ranidel De Ocampo
- Kelly Williams
- Larry Fonacier
- Ryan Reyes
- Harvey Carey
- KG Canaleta
- Danny Seigle
- Nonoy Baclao
- Aaron Aban
- Rob Reyes
Who misses the cut: Jai Reyes, Eric Salamat, Robby Celiz
With apologies to San Mig Coffee, Talk N’ Text is one of the best teams in the league when healthy, and you don’t mess around with a core like that. The Texters should keep Aaron Aban who has been a great “hugot” player and was productive when Ryan Reyes missed playing time last year. Two conferences is also too short a time to gauge how productive Rob Reyes is going to be for the Texters, as every team could use an extra productive big man.
If the Talk N’ Text family bases their decisions purely on the basis of on-court production, Jai Reyes, Eric Salamat and Robby Celiz will be the ones facing the cut. The young guards haven’t seen much play, and the best-case scenario for them is that it’s another classic case of of Norman Black keeping his younger players on the bench before they’ve been honed into serviceable weapons. But even if that were the case, there isn’t much reason to protect them over anyone else besides Aban, with the team in perpetual "win now" mode.
AIR21 EXPRESS
- Asi Taulava
- Mark Cardona
- Joseph Yeo
- Sean Anthony
- Eric Camson
- Aldrech Ramos
- Eliud Poligrates
- Mark Borboran
- Jonas Villanueva
- Mike Burtscher
- Simon Atkins
- Chito Jaime
Who misses the cut: Enrico Villanueva, Ogie Menor
It’s hard to see what the Express want to do with Villanueva. The Raging Bull was acquired in March for Carlo Sharma and Ronnie Matias, but it’s not clear if he can return to his youthful form when he recovers from injury. If they just need size to bang with Slaughter and Fajardo when Taulava finally hangs it up, then Villanueva’s big body might be of use. But otherwise it’s not clear whether he can come back or if the Express should place stock in him. If they do, Jaime gets the axe because he’s been a non-factor off the bench and is out-hustled for minutes by Burtscher and Borboran.
On the other hand, rookie point guard Eliud Poligrates delivers the spark that Ogie Menor hasn’t shown in quite a while (when he’s on the roster), and it’s unlikely he’ll displace Simon Atkins from the rotation once the latter returns to full health. Atkins has had his moments as a shooter for the Express, and would be strongly preferred by Franz Pumaren to be a part of his squad of ex-Archers.
SAN MIG COFFEE MIXERS
- Marc Pingris
- Mark Barroca
- James Yap
- PJ Simon
- Rafi Reavis
- Alex Mallari
- Ian Sangalang
- Joe Devance
- Justin Melton
- Yancy De Ocampo
- Allein Maliksi
- Jerwin Gaco
Who misses the cut: Isaac Holstein, JR Cawaling, Val Acuna, Lester Alvarez
San Mig Coffee has a great mix of not-so-young guys with experience and young guys quickly gaining experience, so this is a relatively easy call to make. It’s likely that San Mig Coffee will keep Maliksi, who proved himself as an explosive scorer in the past conferences before he went down with another knee injury last September. No one will fault them too if they keep Gaco as part of the family and for his cult following amongst the fans, but it won’t be surprising if they opt for someone instead to develop as part of the rotation. Holstein could be that guy, since people with his reach and athleticism don’t enter the league often. But if he hasn’t cracked Tim Cone’s rotation, even after fellow young guns Mallari, Melton and Sangalang already have, then he could be the odd one out if the Mixers continue to rely on De Ocampo for backup minutes down low.
Guys too like Cawaling, Acuna and Alvarez haven’t quite panned out, and for the sake of prolonging their careers, they might relish the chance to start over elsewhere. Cawaling and Acuna starting on the wings might not be the worst thing for an expansion team, and someone has to give Alvarez a solid chance to prove he belongs in the league.
GLOBALPORT BATANG PIER
- Alex Cabagnot
- Jay Washington
- RR Garcia
- Terrence Romeo
- Justin Chua
- Mark Yee
- Jondan Salvador
- Kelly Nabong
- Mark Macapagal
- Jewel Ponferada
- Nico Salva
- Ronnie Matias
Who misses the cut: Erik Menk, Bonbon Custodio, Carlo Sharma
Nine games isn’t nearly enough to read the intentions of a new coach with a lineup in flux. With the way he’s juggled his combinations for the duration of the Commissioner’s Cup, it’s clear that Pido Jarencio is far from sure who his best eight or nine guys or any given night - much more 12 players to select moving forward. For example, Ponferada finally got enough playing time to strut his stuff towards the end their Commissioner’s Cup run, while Romeo and Garcia’s time and play dipped to make room for Cabagnot, Custodio and Macapagal in the backcourt. Nothing is sure, but here’s a good guess of what could go down.
Not factoring the Chua trade for Yousef Taha that was iced early this year, the Batang Pier have to hold on to him and Ponferada in the front court over the older, slower Menk. But if Taha joins the team after this conference they might have to reconsider, given the limited minutes and situations that Taha has played in so far. Salva stays on for his potential as a rotation piece or a trade asset, and the same goes for Matias as one of their better wing defenders. On the other hand, GlobalPort has too many guards who need the ball to be effective and letting Custodio walk away, who is a skilled player in his own right, might be the least among evils for their backcourt dilemma.
SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN
- June Mar Fajardo
- Chris Ross
- Marcio Lassiter
- Chris Lutz
- Arwind Santos
- Doug Kramer
- Ronald Tubid
- Sol Mercado
- Rico Maierhofer
- Chico Lanete
- Paolo Hubalde
- Yousef Taha
Who misses the cut: Sam Marata, Jojo Duncil
The level-headed way to look at it is this - even during Petron’s injury-riddled run in the last Philippine Cup, Marata only played in blowouts while guys like Hubalde, Duncil and even Taha held down the fort until their semifinals exit. Firstly, that kind of play has to be rewarded. Secondly, it only demonstrates how much of a non-asset Marata is right now: he’s a spot-up shooter who can’t shoot. Given the pressure on this franchise to win a championship as soon as possible, he has the least to bring to the table at this point of his career. But in Duncil's case, his minutes have been declining over the years and has been squeezed out of the rotation. When the team is fully healthy there's just no positional need for him, and he might find himself on a new team soon.
But you can’t forget that we’re talking about San Miguel Beer, the same team that let go of Danny Ildefonso at the drop of the hat. They’re also on their third head coach in two years - discarding Olsen Racela and Gee Abanilla along the way - after the team fell short of lofty expectations. Tenure and contributions don’t seem to have much currency here these days, so we’ll have to wait and see.
- AMD, GMA News
