By REYNALD MAGALLON
Three marquee guards – all heady and experienced playmakers – have thrown their names into the 2025 PBA draft and they are expected to be one of the top choices in the proceedings set on Sept. 7 at Mall of Asia.
Veteran guard Jason Brickman, former Batang Gilas standout Dalph Panopio and former UP star Juan Gomez de Liano head the list of PBA aspirants just two days before the deadline for submission of requirements on Aug. 29.
Brickman, who is already 33-years-old, carries the most impressive credentials so far, having spent most of his professional career overseas with stints in Russia, Germany, Malaysia and Taiwan. He even won a championship and a Most Valuable Import award in the T1 League.
The LIU Brooklyn product, who is one of only four NCAA Division I players in history to record 1,000 career assists, has been trying to enter the league since 2019 but had to skip the draft due to the league’s strict requirement for Fil-Foreign players.
Panopio, on the other hand, first turned heads as part of the Gilas Youth in the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2019 alongside current mainstays in the seniors team Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Carl Tamayo.
The Fil-Italian guard played US NCAA Division I basketball with CSU Bakersfield. He was supposed to play in the Korean Basketball League but was released after a herniated disc injury.
He then played in INBL of India with Mumbai and posted averages of 14.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds.
De Liano, for his part, is finally playing in the PBA following stints in Lithuania, Korea and Japan.
He has spent the last two years in the Korean Basketball League playing for the Seoul SK Knights before finally deciding to join brother Javi Gomez De Liano in the PBA.
Another marquee guard could also join the three with Filipino-American and NCAA Division I player Remy Martin reportedly expressing interest in joining the draft should he manage to secure and submit requirements before the deadline.
The league is still awaiting the decision of some top prospects in the likes of 6-foot-10 center CJ Lane, DJ Fenner, Michael Phillips, Geo Chiu and Kobe Paras, whose workout videos excited fans especially after his basketball sabbatical.
NCAA MVP Clint Escamis, meanwhile, has said that he’s skipping this year’s draft.
Players who made themselves available for the draft are UAAP stars Chris Koon, Sean Quitevis, and Gab Gomez of Ateneo, LJ Gonzales of FEU and Ethan Galang and Gjerard Wilson of UE.
Also included in the draft are Mario Barasi and Joshua Yerro of Adamson, Lian Ramiro of La Salle and Christian Manaytay of UST.
Big man Will Gozum and 6-foot-9 center Ladis Lepalam lead the notable names from NCAA side along with Kyle Tolentino, Mark Sangco, Reggs Gabat, Robbie Nayve, Yukien Andrada, Ira Bataller, Harvey Pagsanjan and King Gurtiza.
