2025 PBA DRAFT | POTENTIAL NCAA TAKEOVER?

I’ve been following the NCAA for quite some time now, and while we already expect the usual suspects to declare for the draft, there are always surprise names that pop up along the way.

As of now, I’m not sure if Clint Escamis, Rafael Are, Tony Ynot, Mac Guadana, or Joshua Guiab will apply, but joining the confirmed pool of Will Gozum, Robi Nayve, Yukien Andrada, King Gurtiza, Greg Cunanan, Reggz Gabat, Kyle Tolentino, Marc Sangco, Makoy Marcos, James Una, Arvin Gamboa, Harvey Pagsanjan, Kobe Monje, JM Bravo, and John Barba are some interesting additions: San Beda’s Bryan Sajonia, Benilde’s Shawn Umali, and Letran’s trio of Mark Denver Omega, Jun Roque, and Deo Cuajao.

Now this is where things get fun. This draft class doesn’t have a lot of “can’t-miss” top-end talent, but it’s loaded with bruising forwards and slashers. That alone makes guys like Umali and Omega intriguing because size always gets rewarded in the PBA, especially now that the UAAP has leaned so heavily on foreign student-athletes to fill their frontlines. I’m not hating—it’s just reality. Justin Arana, Louie Sangalang, Kemark Carino, Cade Flores, and JM Calma all boosted their draft stocks because they proved they could bang with the imports and still make a name for themselves. The same template could apply to Allen Liwag, Jomel Puno, Bismarck Lina, and Kevin Santos when their time comes, unless the UAAP decides to rethink its “6’9 import every season” strategy.

My issue with UAAP big men right now is that, outside of Zav Lucero and Kai Ballungay, most of them are struggling to make a real impact. Sure, Luis Villegas and Isaac Go have had their moments, but injuries have kept them in and out of the lineup. On top of that, they’ve been forced to stretch their game to the perimeter because of the dominance of foreign student-athletes like Mo Tounkara, Precious Momowei, and Mo Konateh. Honestly, when was the last time UST, FEU, or UE produced a truly dominant local slotman?

As for Cuajao and Sajonia, they’re poster boys for NCAA career reinventions. Both switched leagues and came out better for it. Roque, meanwhile, might need to wait another year—his stock would skyrocket if Letran makes it back to the Final Four. Romel Calahat is one of those players who should’ve heard his name called on draft day. Kenneth Villapando falls into that same category. Unfortunately, with San Sebastian missing the playoff picture, both ended up slipping through the cracks and are now carving out their careers as MPBL mainstays. The same goes for Roque, who enters the 2025 PBA Draft as a redshirted player coming from a non-dominant Perpetual squad. If teams judged purely on talent, he’d have a fair shot—but without fresh numbers to support his case, his stock takes a hit.

But as things stand, Sajonia, Umali, and Omega look like solid second-round locks, even with Umali and Omega missing Season 100. Their body of work in Season 99 still speaks volumes. Umali has long been tagged as a Beau Belga 2.0, and with Rain or Shine owning five picks, it wouldn’t be surprising if they grab the sweet-shooting bruiser. From there, they could easily double down by picking Omega—a no-nonsense big man whose game reminds me of Long David back in his Pampanga Dragons days. Yes, I’m old enough to remember that.

Sajonia is also primed to take on a bigger scoring load now that James Payosing has made the move to UP.

And let’s not forget, guys like Damie Cuntapay and King Caralipio managed to carve out respectable PBA roles despite being drafted beyond the third round. That’s the NCAA advantage—producing ready-made, blue-collar ballers who don’t mind doing the dirty work.

And sure, the NCAA usually takes a backseat to UAAP talent in the first and second rounds. But once the later rounds hit, they quietly steal the show. Even John Amores, for all the baggage he carried, managed to become a key contributor during his short stint with NorthPort.

If the UAAP keeps bleeding talent to Japan and Korea, then this could be the NCAA’s chance to finally swing the pendulum their way. Escamis is the perfect example—he could declare now, but if he holds out and takes his talents abroad, he might re-emerge as an even hotter commodity for the 2026 Draft. Same with other names like Thirdy Ravena, who needs to figure out his Japan situation since he’s barely seeing minutes in Dubai, or James Spencer, who’s too good to waste away in Japan-B League Division 2 ball overseas.

And hey, if Terrafirma finally calls it quits on their PBA existence, that’s one less black hole to worry about for these NCAA standouts.

For years, the UAAP has dominated draft headlines, but maybe—just maybe—this is the time for the NCAA to step up and finally get their long-overdue shine.