If you saw my mock drafts for the 2024 PBA Draft, I never had Caelan Tiongson in my Top 5.
I saw him in the Top 3 of some lists, but I never saw him as a Top 5 in mine. The thing about Tiongson is he's an old rookie. At 33, it's hard for a team to justify a pick like that because he's either a grizzled vet like Stephen Holt, or disappointment like Maurice Shaw.
I don't really want to hate Shaw, but he deserves to be the worst PBA bust ever because Simon Camacho, the 34th pick of the 2019 PBA Draft, had a better career than Shaw.
And let's not forget that after Shaw and before Camacho were Sean Manganti, Aris Dionisio, Arvin Tolentino, Kib Montalbo, Jerrick Balanza, Kent Salado, and Aaron Black.
Furthermore, Caelan briefly retired during the height of the pandemic.
And I guess my biggest problem about Tiongson is that he has this Jordan Heading, Jason Brickman, Mikey Williams, and Bobby Ray Parks vibe in him.
He is not a local player, because he's built to play as an import.
And there is nothing wrong with this. Thirdy Ravena and Kai Sotto are examples of players embracing the basketball path of a hired gun.
If and when the offers dry up, they can always play in the PBA.
But the difference between Thirdy and Kai, is that they are familiar with the PBA. Apart from YouTube videos and former teammates, Tiongson doesn't have an affinity for the league.
This is why the Christian Standhardinger trade is raising questions. There's a difference between playing like an import and having a mind of an import. I guess aside from getting as many Gilas players in the SMC squad, Tim Cone wants a team that is centered around a forward rather than a center. Maybe Cone and C-Stan argue about ball movement and shot selections.
When Johnedel said that he finally has a player on the inside, he meant it and then some. If Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle accept the trade as a non-demotion, then they can be the missing pieces to Terrafirma's rise.
Anyway, Tiongson may not like the idea of having Yeng Guiao as a coach. Both parties are not at fault here. Guiao won championships in this manner, while Tiongson found success in various leagues by making sure that everything is covered. Or if he's going to be berated, cursed, or experience the coaching madness of CYG, then he wants to be compensated more.
He's an old rookie who never saw the PBA as the endgame. Felix Lemetti might be on the same wavelength as Tiongson, but Tiongson might have offers to play elsewhere whereas Lemetti's going to use his PBA stint to verify his worth.
And if you think his Strong Group showing is a good thing then what if Converge joins in on the conflict? SGA's Jacob Lao is also the team manager of the FiberXers. If an agreement doesn't push through, then Lao can just shuffle offers to Rain or Shine. The Elasto Painters have a penchant for keeping a lot of draft picks and judging their 2023-24 season, there is a chance that Converge might struggle in 2024-25 as well despite the entry of Justine Baltazar. And if the deal pushes through and it's a low first-rounder because of what the combo of Balti, Justin Arana, Tiongson, and Alec Stockton brought to Converge, this never stopped Yeng Guiao from introducing his no-superstar policy.
The dude transformed Jhonard Clarito into what he is now and centered his team around Andrei Caracut and Adrian Nocum last season. Even if you say that Beau Belga's performance last season is just a placeholder for what we can expect with a healthy Luis Villegas and Keith Datu, who is to say that we won't see Big Beau run it back again when Guiao needs him?
If there is a coach who can get the best out of any player, it's Yeng Guiao.
I am not saying that this is what he is thinking, but some PBA teams can give Tiongson "under the table" packages that unfortunately, Rain or Shine couldn't give. This is the biggest reason why fans root the Elasto Painters - and that is because they fight for championships regardless of roster and situation.
This is why they need to cut Tiongson out to a team that would give him what he wants, and get something back in return. Perhaps ROS will get better results by concentrating on the development of their young talents, as well as Villegas and Lemetti.