PBA: GlobalPort Batang Pier 2013 draft preview

2012-13 season recap:

• Philippine Cup: 1-13 (10th)
• Commissioner’s Cup: 2-12 (10th)
• Governors’ Cup: 4-5 (5th), lost to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the quarterfinals

What happened last season?

El Granda. MMDA. Walter Sharpe. Jay Washington. There was definitely no shortage of storylines for GlobalPort in the recently concluded season.

The sad part? It did not translate into any success on the court. Despite all the talent on the roster, injuries, off-court drama and sleeping imports conspired to keep GlobalPort from advancing past the quarterfinals in any conference of the PBA this season.

There was so much promise for this team, especially in the Commissioner’s Cup with the arrival of Japeth Aguilar. Fresh from his tryouts in the US for the NBA D-League, Aguilar electrified the PBA in his debut for Global Port, and had the team’s fans salivating at the possibilities of the future. But the joy quickly faded as teams began to figure out how to deal with the individual talent of GlobalPort. The losses continued to pile up, and they never advanced past the elimination round.

The farthest that Global Port was able to advance was the quarterfinals of the Governors’ Cup, as the new core of Sol Mercado, Gary David, Willie Miller and Jay Washington made some noise before being eliminated by Rain or Shine.


What do they need?

Where do we begin? After an offseason that saw GlobalPort trade away franchise player Gary David, the team’s fortunes now relies on the broad shoulders of Sol Mercado and Jay Washington. Willie Miller will still be able to contribute, but GlobalPort desperately needs talent in all areas of the court.

Washington needs a defensive-minded center to help him control the paint. GlobalPort also needs shooters to help space the floor and give Mercado options to swing the ball. They also need more athletes who can help finish fast breaks and run alongside Miller and Mercado. They also need…you get the idea.



Who do they pick?

As of writing, Global Port currently holds the 7th and 11th picks of the draft (through the first two rounds). With those picks, they need to get the best possible talent available to begin the rebuilding process with. The key for this pick is that the draftee should be ready to contribute right away, because GlobalPort needs contribution immediately. Any player, whether it’s RR Garcia, Jeric Teng or even Justin Chua will be able to help GlobalPort.

My fearless forecast is that GlobalPort tabs the best available scorer with the 7th pick and selects a big man that they can develop, like Isaac Holstein, with the 11th.

[Try out our 2013 PBA mock draft machine here]

Possible trades:

There are rumors that GlobalPort is in talks to acquire the sixth pick from Barako Bull, but the Batang Pier were supposed to ship the Energy Cola point guard Chris Ross, who was conveyed to the Petron Blaze Boosters for Dennis Miranda, Wednesday. If GlobalPort still manages to get a high pick though, they ought to select the best available  talent on the floor. With the absence of Gary David, they will need a scorer who can immediately begin firing away. If UAAP MVP Terrence Romeo is still available here, this is definitely the best talent available. Otherwise, his former running mate in RR Garcia or UST’s Jeric Teng should go to the Batang Pier?  - AMD, GMA News