There were no surprises in the Philippine Basketball Association Season 46 Rookie Draft with the top five players in almost all mock drafts—Joshua Munzon, Jaime Malonzo, Calvin Oftana, Mikey Williams and Santi Santillan – being picked as projected.
Munzon, a product of Cal State-Los Angeles product, was selected first overall in the stacked, talent laden field by Terrafirma Dyip. He was the Dyip’s third consecutive No. 1 overall pick after CJ Perez (since traded to San Miguel Beer) and Roosevelt Adams.
The 26-year-old Munzon—who showcased his talent in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), the PBA D-League and in 3×3 basketball—was the consensus best player in the Draft.
The NorthPort Batang Pier selected Malonzo, who played college ball with Portland University and then with De La Salle University where he played one season in the UAAP.
The NLEX Road Warriors selected former San Beda star and former National Collegiate Athletic Association MVP Oftana at fourth.
The TNT Tropang Giga used the fourth pick, obtained via trade, to grab athletic guard Williams.
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters used their own pick to select undersized big man Santillan as fifth overall pick.
The first surprise pick was made by the Alaska Aces when they took legit big man Ben Adamos, who played for San Beda and Perpetual Help in the NCAA, as the sixth pick in the first round.
The Phoenix Super LPG took Larry Muyang at seventh. James Laput was taken at eighth by Terrafirma as their second pick in the first round. Alvin Pasaol was selected by the Meralco Bolts at ninth.
The Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok selected former Adamson University guard Jerick Ahanmisi at tenth. Troy Rike was selected by NorthPort at eleventh.
Barangay Ginebra completed the first round by selecting Ken Holmqvist.
Meanwhile, Jordan Heading was made the No. 1 pick by Terrafirma in the special Gilas draft.
Former Ateneo standout William Navarro was taken second by NorthPort; Tzaddy Rangel was picked third by NLEX; and Jaydee Tungcab was selected by TNT with the final pick of the round.
The players will be on loan with Gilas and will play for their respective PBA team after their duties with the national team under an agreement between the PBA and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
