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| Avery Scharer is a potential top pick in this year's PBA D-League Draft. |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa expressed his astonishment after finding out that 215 basketball players applied for the D-League Draft on Dec. 1.
“Wow. This is a huge pool. I’m sure there’s a lot of talent out there,” Narvasa said on Monday upon the announcement of the draft application turnout.
One factor that led to the huge number of draft applicants was the adjustment of the age limit to 30 years old.
ABL star Avery Scharer, aged 29, leads this year's draft applicants. Scharer, one of 26 Fil-foreign players who applied for the draft, led the league in assists and steals while playing for Malaysia.
Other notable players who declared for the draft, which will take place at the PBA Cafe in Pasig, are La Salle players Julian Sargent and Jason Perkins, Fonzo Gotladera and Von Pessumal of Ateneo, and former FBA star Ryan Wetherell.
Keramix, which struggled last season, will pick first followed by AMA, Tanduay, Cafe France, and Wangs.
Two new teams, UP-QRS-JAM and Mindanao, will also participate in the draft, but their order will depend on a lottery.
Narvasa hopes that the new Gilas players could come from this draft batch.
"Certainly, [the huge number of applicants] is an encouraging development for the league and basketball in general. Who knows, maybe this batch could lead to new discoveries for future Gilas pools,” the commissioner further said.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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