Reality set in for PBA Draft 51 in January 2027. The prospective first overall pick, Mike Phillips, used the same route as Quentin Millora-Brown. After securing Gilas clearance, Phillips is now eligible for a stint in the Japan B. League. Now, there are already rumors swirling that “Motor Mike” has a three-year contract. In all likelihood, this will make him withdraw from the PBA Draft.
Phillips is not even the only one from his current team, San Juan Knights of the MPBL, to go overseas. Gerry Abadiano, the former UP Fighting Maroon, will leave for South Korea as the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) officially announced that Abadiano is signed as their Asian Quota player for the upcoming 2026–27 season.
It’s a strong possibility that they won’t be the last. Is the highly-anticipated draft now depleted with talent?
Who is the New No.1 Pick?
Phillips was projected as the first overall pick after a dominant performance in the UAAP Season 88 leading La Salle’s title charge. It’s clear that he was the big difference, clashing against bigger foreign-student athletes. He put the entire basketball world, not just the Philippine scene, on notice.
Now that spot is vacated, who can fill in the void?
Of course, any other Gilas mainstay would end up on top. Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, or Kai Sotto would be a dream come true for PBA teams, but it’s highly unlikely for now.
Realistic picks would be Kymani Ladi of Ateneo and Jacob Cortez of La Salle. It’s highly dependent on team need, but Ladi’s height and wing skillset would be hard to pass up.
Talented Bigs
Remember that the PBA Season 51 Draft has the distinction of having two graduating UAAP classes. Phillips and Ladi are part of Season 88 graduates, but there would be a horde of talent from Season 89 eligible to join as well. So the seasoned veterans that would be playing in the upcoming UAAP can also get their name called in January.
Mason Amos and Luis Pablo take the cudgels for La Salle, and both could join the draft. Their Finals rivals, the Maroons, also have a pair of serviceable bigs in Gani Stevens and Sean Alter. All of them are at the 6’7-6’8 range.
There are also bigs like NCAA MVP Allen Liwag, Cedric Manzano of Adamson who won a gold medal in the SEA Games, and Raven Gonzales in the MPBL.
