CREAM OF THE CROP?: Policarpio makes heads turn at Draft Combine

Jonnel Policarpio will enter the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft beaming with confidence following a stellar performance in the Draft Combine.

The De La Salle University product emerged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the mini tournament which highlighted the two-day Combine that gave the aspirants a chance to show what they could bring to the table to potential interested teams.

Policarpio stole the spotlight from projected top pick and college teammate Justine Baltazar after leading Team B-1 to a 61-44 rout of Team A-3 in the final on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

“This is a blessing and I’m grateful that I got the MVP. This is just a bonus for our hard work and for the collective effort of my teammates,” Policarpio said.

The Macabebe, Pampanga native displayed his all-around game throughout the four matches in the mini tournament.

He was joined by Brandon Ramirez, Kurt Reyson, Jordan Bartlett and Baltazar in the Mythical Five.

“I didn’t expect that I’ll be named MVP because my teammates are also very talented,” Policarpio said.

Baltazar is expected to be selected by Converge as the No. 1 pick overall in the Draft on Sunday at the Activity Center of Glorietta in Makati City.

Policarpio said that he doesn’t care about when he will be picked but vowed to go all-out for the club that will select him on Draft day.

“I’m ready wherever I’ll be going. I’ll definitely give my 100 percent,” he said.

Day 1 of the Combine saw La Salle’s Mark Nonoy topping two of the five skills test.

The 5-foot-9 point guard emerged as one of the fastest aspirants after clocking in 2.862 seconds in the sprint test. He even bested other taller players on the running vertical jump test after reaching 53 inches.

DJ Mitchell was the fastest in the lane agility, finishing the test in 11.49 seconds.

Brandon Ramirez had the fastest reaction time with 358 milliseconds while National University’s Michael Malonzo aced the standing vertical jump with 43 inches while hitting 51 inches in the running vertical jump.