2025 PBA DRAFT | MY "WHERE ARE THE TOP STARS" RANT

Regardless of the negative write-ups, questionable decisions, low ratings, and attendance, and even the existence of the four-point line, the PBA will always be the PBA. This is still the place where the best Filipinos play until they decide their skills are ready for international leagues, and hopefully, the NBA.

The KBL and Japan B.League continue to lure our players with big contracts, but the truth is, the PBA never really needed Asian imports in the first place. What we could use are their playbooks and the way they innovate their systems, not their actual players.

And no, a worldwide campaign for the four-point shot is not the solution.

Recently, the PBA has reportedly asked the UAAP to relax its rules so graduating players can apply for the 2025 PBA Draft.

The NCAA has already done it, so why can’t the UAAP?

According to Naveen Ganglani and the Basketball Zone Facebook page, 56 players have already applied for the draft. Out of that pool, only Will Gozum, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Ljay Gonzales made my projected first round. DJ Fenner and Jason Brickman have yet to officially declare, though there are still a few days before the deadline.

One of the biggest reasons stars hesitate to join the draft is the situation with the teams picking at the top. Terrafirma, Phoenix, Blackwater, and Northport have some of the worst winning traditions in the league. Six out of the twelve current teams have never won a championship, and if you add Meralco and Rain or Shine, that makes eight teams with only three titles between them.

If international players ever decide to join the PBA, chances are we’ll only get their washed-up versions. I also doubt the next 25 picks for the PBA's Greatest Players list will come from today’s crop of players because they are either benchwarmers or, in the case of the international players, spent too little time in the PBA.

The league has twelve teams, but realistically, only nine are competitive. On top of that, the Philippines also has the MPBL, Pilipinas Super League, National Basketball League, and other region-based commercial leagues. While fans are clamoring for expansion, what we actually need is tighter competition. For example, when Meralco finally won, they got cheered over San Miguel despite SMB’s massive fanbase. Fans are desperate for change. And if the concern is job opportunities for players, the MPBL already has its own versions of Terrafirma and NorthPort. Just look at teams like the Bulacan Kuyas or Bacolod Tubo Slashers, who can barely win games season after season.

Even in the MPBL, rosters rarely feature talent straight out of the 2024 UAAP and NCAA season. Between the two college leagues, the NCAA arguably does a better job at producing players ready for the pros. The UAAP’s top talents often leave for overseas leagues, and their schools rely heavily on foreign big men. That makes it nearly impossible to develop local giants like June Mar Fajardo or Greg Slaughter. And while “positionless basketball” may be trendy, the Philippines still needs real centers. Ladis Lepalam is 6’9, but the most solid first-round names right now are Will Gozum and Geo Chiu, if he decides to declare.

So yes, there are at least five rounds worth of talent in this draft. The question is whether any of them can actually become game-changers.