PBA Rookie Camp (Day 1)
Fifty-one aspirants looking to be selected in Sunday’s PBA Annual Draft showed up Tuesday at the Club 650 in Libis, Quezon City for the first of three-day PBA Rookie Camp.
PBA supervisor of officials Ramil Cruz, who is also camp director, made the aspirants undergo four different sessions of strength and agility tests while also measuring the prospective rookies’ official heights, weights, wingspans, etc.
Former DLSU standout Rico Maierhofer, former Mapua center Jerby del Rosario and Fil-Swiss Michael Burtscher were the tallest among those who attended as they were measured to be identical 6-5s while the shortest was 5-8 1/4 Filemon Fernandez III, a point guard out of Fullerton College who was born in Cisco, Texas to Filipino immigrants from Aklan and Bohol.
PBL MVP Chris Ross made the most number of pull-ups with 29, Kevin White tops the push-up with 129, little-known Emmanuel Malasig made the most number of bench press with 48 while Jorel Canisarez made the highest vertical leap with 11.11 meters.
Potential top pick Japeth Aguilar was conspicuously unnoticed from the event held to provide coaches a glimpse of the type of player they intend to recruit.
The 6-10 former Ateneo Eagle has been excused from the proceedings to attend the scheduled practice of the Powerade Team Pilipinas.
The Nationals are leaving next week for Tianjin, China to compete in the the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship which serves as the qualifying tournament for the 16th FIBA World Championships set in Istanbul, Turkey next year.
Also not in attendance was Marlon Adolfo.
Aside from Aguilar, the 2009 class also includes a pair of Most Valuable Player (MVP) awardees, a Finals MVP who played a key role in San Beda’s three straight NCAA men’s basketball championship, a gangling center instrumental in La Salle’s UAAP championship two years ago, a brother of Alaska big man Reynel Hugnatan and a slew of Fil-Am cagers including a nephew of Talk `N Text guard Jimmy Alapag.
Burger King owns this year’s no. 1 overall pick.
The rookie applicants had been split into four teams and will play in the two-day, four-game schedule at the Caruncho gym in Pasig City on July 30 and 31.
Teaming up with the Aguilar in Group A (yellow) are Pharex stalwarts Ronnie Mathias, Sean Co and Josh Urbiztondo, while PBL MVP Chris Ross, Roel Hugnatan and 2007 UAAP MVP Jervy Cruz spearhead Group B (white).
San Beda star Ogie Menor, Maierhofer, Far Eastern University guard Benedict Fernandez and Oracle guard Chris Timberlake stood at the forefront of Group C (blue), while Group D (red) will be led by University of the East’s Marcy Arellano, Jose Rizal University’s James Sena and White, the eldest son of Alapag’s eldest sister, Elizabeth.
The camp takes a break Wednesday to give way to the coaching clinic to be conducted by Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig starting at 2 in the afternoon. (DBC)