2025-26 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP | ROOKIE RANKINGS | START TO MAR 31

Calling Jason Brickman “old” at this point feels lazy. Sure, Meralco has a deep guard rotation, and yes, Chris Newsome remains Gilas Pilipinas’ trusted point guard super sub, but there’s no denying that their Asian import is always going to find his way into the Bolts’ rotation. And right now, that’s exactly what’s happening.

With Brickman steadying the ship, Meralco remains right in the thick of the playoff race. And with Juan Gomez de Liano sidelined by injury, Brickman has effectively taken over as the top rookie of the conference.

Of course, he isn’t the only rookie making noise. Geo Chiu, Ljay Gonzales, Chris Koon, JM Bravo, and Dalph Panopio have all made strong impressions, even if Panopio’s momentum has slowed due to his timeshare with RK Ilagan. Still, the rookie class has been productive enough that I’ve expanded this list to 15 players.

One of the biggest surprises has been fourth-round pick Bryan Sajonia, who continues to impress. After dropping a 29-point performance, he has boosted his scoring average to 11 points per game and is quickly turning heads around the league.

Then there’s the Rain or Shine rookie crew, who were given free rein to unleash absolute chaos during their 56-point demolition of Blackwater. While we all know Yeng Guiao will eventually revert to his usual core rotation, that game showed that Jun Roque, Deo Cuajao, Joshua David, and Christian Manaytay are more than capable of stepping up when called upon.

And as for Will Gozum, his breakout moment in Phoenix still feels like a matter of when, not if. He’s slowly working his way deeper into the rotation, and once he gets consistent minutes, he could easily become another name to watch in this rookie race.

Anyway, here’s the list.

GAME STARTS NOW!

1 | MERALCO | JASON BRICKMAN

PREVIOUS RANK: 3

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	11.75	5	4.5	0	0

2 | TERRAFIRMA | GEO CHIU

PREVIOUS RANK: 2

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	7	9.5	1.25	0.25	1.25

3 | NLEX | LJAY GONZALES

PREVIOUS RANK: 4

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	8.25	3.25	2	1.75	0

4 | CONVERGE | JUAN GOMEZ DE LIANO

PREVIOUS RANK: 1

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
2	12.5	4.5	6	0.5	0

5 | TITAN ULTRA | BRYAN SAJONIA

PREVIOUS RANK: 9

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	18.25	8.25	2.25	1.25	2.5

6 | BLACKWATER | DALPH PANOPIO

PREVIOUS RANK: 5

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
3	4.33	2	3	0.67	0.33

7 | RAIN OR SHINE | DEO CUAJAO

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
1	15	1	2	1	0

8 | RAIN OR SHINE | CHRISTIAN MANAYTAY

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	5	2.5	1	0.75	0.75

9 | TERRAFIRMA | JM BRAVO

PREVIOUS RANK: 8

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	5.5	3	1.75	0	0.25

10 | MAGNOLIA | CHRIS KOON

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
3	2.67	3.67	2.67	0.33	0

11 | BLACKWATER | JAMES UNA

PREVIOUS RANK: 6

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	3.75	3.5	0.5	1.25	0.5

12 | RAIN OR SHINE | JUN ROQUE

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
3	6	2.67	1	0.33	0

13 | RAIN OR SHINE | JOSHUA DAVID

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
3	2.67	3	2.33	0	0

14 | PHOENIX | WILL GOZUM

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
2	5	1.5	1	0	0.5

15 | TERRAFIRMA | SHAWN UMALI

PREVIOUS RANK: 10

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
4	3.75	2.5	0.5	0.5	0.25

GONE FROM THE LIST:

YUKIEN ANDRADA | MAGNOLIA

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:

CHRIS MILLER | SAN MIGUEL

YUKIEN ANDRADA | MAGNOLIA

MARK DENVER OMEGA | TITAN ULTRA

SONNY ESTIL | GINEBRA

JOHN LLOYD CLEMENTE | CONVERGE