2020 PBA Draft News: The upcoming draft could be the deepest ever!

 

All the focus right now of the PBA universe is the upcoming PBA bubble. Another event that will happen soon will be the 2020 PBA draft because the year is almost over.

Finally, we heard PBA commissioner Willie Marcial talked about it. He said in the Power and Play program of former PBA commissioner Noli Eala that they are planning to conduct it either by December or January.

The biggest change that will happen is that they will call it as Season 45 draft. Especially if it ends up in January 2021. It will be confusing to call it the 2020 draft if it happens in 2021, right?

Other than that, the commissioner also expects that the D-League requirement will not be applicable for this year as the D League will not be able to conduct any tournament this year.

That means anyone who is above 20 years old will be eligible to join the draft, as long as he can prove that he is a Filipino.

That will now open the door for a lot of prospects. I expect that the pandemic could open a lot of the eyes of the amateur players about the importance of securing their finances.

From the Alab Pilipinas, Jeremiah Gray will be an interesting entry. He is very athletic and has several skills that are good. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser is a 6'7 bigman that could further increase the depth of the potential frontline position of this draft.

From the NCAA, Kemark Carino of San Beda is a 6'8 center who is already 22 years old. Rhenz Abando is of course now with NCAA, and he can actually change his mind and join the PBA.

Without the D League requirement, international Filipino basketball players can now join the league, without hassle. So, Sedrick Barefield who last played for the NBA G League affiliate of OKC Thunders can now join.

One more interesting option is Zavier Lucero who played for  Cal State Maritime Academy in the United States. He is a 6'6 wingman who can play as an athletic big in the PBA.

Overall, the 2020 PBA draft can turn out to be one of the most loaded ever if at least some will take advantage of the relaxation of the rules.