Not all PBA players will be there to fight for their team in the only PBA tournament this year. Here are the ten players that will not be there with the biggest impact on the competition.
#10 Larry Fonacier
Larry decided not to join the bubble because his wife has some health issues. I do not expect NLEX to miss him that much knowing that coach Yeng Guiao always has a deep bench. Also, the guy is already 38 years old.
#9 Sol Mercado
Sol Mercado will not be part of the bubble because he was not signed by any team. I think some teams will end up regretting that decision because it is debatable that Sol is better than at least 30 players that are on the bubble.
#8 Carl Bryan Cruz
Carl will miss it due to an injury. I do not think he will be missed that much by Blackwater because they have a lot of players that play like him. I am talking about Don Trollano, Mac Belo and Anthony Semerad.
#7 Matthew Ganuelas Rosser
According to some sources, MGR will not be able to return to the country in time for the start of the bubble. So, he was taken-off their line-up. MGR is a good role player for the beer but I think missing him will just open up playing time for some interesting players that are buried in the deep bench of San Miguel.
#6 Noy Baclao
Unfortunately for Meralco, their free-agent acquisition will not be able to play in the bubble. I think he will be a big loss because the frontline depth of Meralco is shallow.
#5 Joachim Thoss
Even though he is already 38 years old, Alaska still relied heavily on Thoss last season. So, his 17+ minutes per game will now be available for players that will not have his size and his experience. Unless Alaska finds an undersize bigman gem, Alaska may have a hard time getting consistent numbers for those minutes.
#4 Greg Slaughter
The story of the sabbatical of Greg is already told so many times. Ginebra was not able to find someone to replace him as a starting-caliber bigman. That means they will rely on Aguilar and the other veterans in filling up his role. Even though Greg is arguably the 2nd most impactful player in this list, I do not think Ginebra needs him that much as shown by their championship without him.
#3 Marc Pingris
Marc Pingris' age could be catching up to him as the guy will miss the bubble to current and lingering injuries. He was on the main frontline rotation of Magnolia and a vital foundation of their defense. Knowing that Magnolia counts a lot on their defense, not having Marc will surely sting them.
#2 Robert Bolick
Unfortunately, Northport is so cautious to let Bolick play. They will just instead prepare him for next year. That means their point guard rotation now will begin with Nico Elorde and his 6.0 points, 33% FG, 31%3FG, 3.7 assists and 1.9 turnovers per game is not that inspiring.
#1 June Mar Fajardo
This easy. Fajardo is the Lebron James of the PBA. Without him, almost all teams are unanimous in saying that this tournament will be more wide-open than in the past.
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