NO-BRAINER: Baltazar looms as top draft choice

Barring a last-minute change of heart, Converge is expected to bestow upon Justine Baltazar the honor of being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 49 Rookie Draft today at the Glorietta 4 Activity Center in Makati.

The De La Salle University product is the consensus top choice among the 70 aspirants in the 4 p.m. proceedings.

Choosing the 6-foot-7 Baltazar is a no-brainer for FiberXers head coach Aldin Ayo.

“We lack ceiling. We need a big man. And at the same time, firepower, we need someone who can contribute on offense. Whoever that will be, he will be the choice of the management and coaching staff,” Ayo said.

Baltazar also has a wealth of experience and a championship pedigree which could help the rebuilding Converge bounce back from a woeful performance last season.

The FiberXers only had three wins in 22 games — one in the Commissioner’s Cup and two in the Philippine Cup, finishing last in both tournaments.

Baltazar withdrew from the Draft two years ago to play in Japan but was used sparingly by Hiroshima Dragonflies.

He returned to the local scene and turned heads when he led the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in winning the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) crown last year and was named season and Finals Most Valuable Player.

Baltazar is currently averaging 14.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in the ongoing MPBL season.

If picked by Converge, Baltazar will reunite with Ayo, his former La Salle coach when the Green Archers won the 2016 University Athletic Association of the Philippines title.

Blackwater, on the other hand, is likely to tap Filipino-American Sedrick Barefield as the No. 2 overall pick.

The 27-year-old guard played in the US NCAA Division 1 and has seen action in clubs in Greece, Lithuania, Taiwan and for the Bay Area Dragons.

The Draft gets more interesting when Barangay Ginebra San Miguel suddenly acquired the third overall selection in a trade with Terrafirma on Saturday.

The Gin Kings sent Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle to the Dyip for Isaac Go and Stephen Holt including a swap in the Draft order. Terrafirma will get Ginebra’s 10th pick.

This gives Gin Kings coach Tim Cone a chance to pluck his wish to pluck a big man which could be either Kai Ballungay or the Draft Combine Most Valuable Player Jonnel Policarpio.

Selecting fourth is Phoenix followed by NorthPort and NLEX.

Rain or Shine will draft back-to-back at Nos. 6 (acquired from trade with Blackwater and TNT) and 7 before Magnolia, Terrafirma, reigning Philippine Cup champion Meralco and Commissioner’s Cup winner San Miguel Beer take their turns.

In the second round, the Elasto Painters will select first in a pick they got from a trade with Converge. NorthPort and Terrafirma will then take their picks before Rain or Shine gets another one followed by Ginebra, NLEX and Converge.

The Elasto Painters will pick again before Converge, Ginebra, Meralco and another Converge turn.

The third and succeeding rounds will have Converge, Blackwater, Terrafirma, Phoenix, NorthPort, NLEX, TNT, ROS, Magnolia, Ginebra, Meralco and SMB in the draft order.

This Draft is considered to be one of the deepest in years with other big names like Fil-Am Caelan Tiongson, former Korea campaigners RJ Abarrientos and Dave Ildefonso, UAAP champions Evan Nelle, Ben Phillips, Mark Nonoy and CJ Cansino along with Jerom Lastimosa and former PBA 3x3 star Brandon Ramirez on the list.