I said I was going to rank the rookies when one of the teams reached five games. Lo and behold Blackwater has now five games. Granted, four of those games are forgettable, but they got to check out the talents of Christian David. The Fil-Am is getting the chance to show off his talents but unfortunately, he fails in comparison to Stephen Holt, Cade Flores, and Ken Tuffin.
Keith Datu would have been top two on this list if not for his DNPs. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are winless in four attempts as of this writing and it would have been awesome if Datu, as well as Luis Villegas, is playing in the squad.
The three players on top of the list are from the three teams that need the talent the most. Stephen Holt is still struggling from the field, but he is also posting exceptional numbers. Terrafirma is thriving with Holt and Kemark Carino playing prominent roles with Taylor Miller and Tommy Olivario also getting enough time to strut their wares. The same can be said with Northport with their NCAA connection of Cade Flores, Brent Paraiso, Fran Yu, and John Amores. Phoenix is also a team that benefited in the draft with Ken Tuffin, Matthew Daves, and Raffy Verano. In some ways, I can also say this to Converge with Schonny Winston, Bryan Santos, Pat Maagdenberg, Inand Fornilos, and King Caralipio, but for some insane reason, I see the team getting the rookies and distributing their former stars to the SMC teams so they can top everyone in the Justine Baltazar sweepstakes.
And speaking of Baltazar, we can expect a surplus of MPBL and NCAA players moving to the PBA. Adrian Nocum has signed with Rain or Shine after the elimination of the San Juan Knights and I expect the likes of Blackwater's James Kwekuteye, NLEX's Jan Nermal, and Terrafirma's Louie Sangalang and JB Bahio to help their respective squads. Meanwhile, NLEX is also waiting for Enoch Valdez, who is fighting for an NCAA Finals spot against Blackwater's Cliff Jopia. JL Delos Santos is set to join Converge with the elimination of the JRU Heavy Bombers.
Anyway, 28 rookies have seen action in the PBA this month and this also includes 2021 PBA Draft applicant Donald Gumaru. Here are the rest of the pack.
1 | STEPHEN HOLT | TERRAFIRMA
13.0PPG - 7.3RPG - 5.3APG - 1.3SPG - 39% FG
2 | CADE FLORES | NORTHPORT
9.5PPG - 9.0RPG - 1.0APG - 0.8SPG - 0.5BPG - 53% FG
3 | KEN TUFFIN | PHOENIX
9.8PPG - 6.8RPG - 3.0APG - 37% FG
4 | KEMARK CARINO | TERRAFIRMA
7.7PPG - 7.7RPG - 1.7BPG - 47% FG
5 | RICHIE RODGER | NLEX
6.5PPG - 1.3RPG - 2.3APG - 39% FG
6 | RICCI RIVERO | PHOENIX
10.5PPG - 2.3RPG - 0.5SPG - 50% FG
7 | SCHONNY WINSTON | CONVERGE
7.5PPG - 3.0RPG - 1.0APG - 1.3SPG - 32% FG
8 | HENRY GALINATO | TNT
6.3PPG - 3.7RPG - 82% FG
9 | CHRISTIAN DAVID | BLACKWATER
5.4PPG - 1.2RPG - 0.6SPG - 0.6BPG - 39% FG
10 | KEITH DATU | RAIN OR SHINE
16.0PPG - 5.0RPG - 2.0APG - 1.0SPG - 1.0BPG - 67% FG
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
BRENT PARAISO | NORTHPORT
INAND FORNILOS | CONVERGE
BRYAN SANTOS | CONVERGE
KIM AURIN | TNT
TAYLOR MILLER | TERRAFIRMA
FRAN YU | NORTHPORT
BRANDON BATES | MERALCO
TOMMY OLIVARIO | TERRAFIRMA
JOHN AMORES | NORTHPORT
RALPH CU | GINEBRA
* played two or more games