DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 15 July)—Two basketball players from the Davao Region were drafted Sunday evening to join the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The PBA draft is an annual event where teams select eligible players to join their pool of players, just like in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States.
The two Dabawenyos are Francis Gabriel Escandor, a Davao City-born basketball player who was picked first in the second round by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, and Kurt Spencer Rayson, a Malita, Davao Occidental native who was picked 11th, also in the second round, by the recent PBA champions Meralco Bolts.
Escandor, 26, is a 6-foot-2 guard-forward who played recently with Manila SV Batang Sampaloc in the semi-professional league Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He played 13 games and averaged 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 24 minutes per game for the team.
He was also a one-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball champion for De La Salle Green Archers in 2023, where his efforts helped secure La Salle’s first championship in seven years. Escandor also played with NBA players Dwight Howard and André Roberson for Strong Group Athletics, a team which competed in an invitational league in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last January.
“I just need to be the best teammate that I can be, provide great energy for both defense and offense and I’ll go from there,” Escandor said in a television interview talking of what he can bring for his new professional team.
Meanwhile, Reyson, 25, is a 5-foot-9 guard who came in as part of the Mythical Five during this year’s PBA draft combine 5×5 tournament, a showcase of the PBA hopefuls of what they can do in a basketball setting.
He was a three-time champion for Colegio de San Juan de Letrán men’s basketball team, and became a champion while playing for Pampanga Giant Lanterns in Pilipinas Superliga and MPBL.
Coming into the draft, Reyson averaged 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists within 15.1 minutes per game in 15 games for Pampanga.
“I’m lucky to be picked by a defending champion team,” Reyson said in a television interview.
Zamboanga-natives were also picked in this year’s draft, namely, Ahmad Didat Hanapi, a fifth pick, second-round selection for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and Pedro Alfaro III was picked in the third round by Terrafirma Dyip. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
