Whoever will pick Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) stars is facing a long wait before they can play in the Philippine Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association starting this October.

Quezon Huskers team manager Atty. Donn Kapunan told DAILY TRIBUNE that some MPBL players still have live contracts with their respective teams despite throwing their names in the Annual Rookie Draft on 7 September at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

The powerhouse Huskers will have six players in the 128-man draft pool led by former National Collegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) Will Gozum and gunners Judel Fuentes and L-Jay Gonzales. They have live contracts until 31 December, prompting them to miss the first three months of the Philippine Cup, including the road matches in Dubai and Bahrain in October and December, respectively.

Aside from Gozum, Fuentes and Gonzales, other Quezon stars who are joining the draft are former Adamson University stars Vince Magbuhos and Joshua Yerro, and Far Eastern University standout Ximone Sandagon.

“Yes, that’s correct. They still have a live contract with us until December 31,” Kapunan, whose squad is tipped to make another strong run to the title as it is currently on top of the South Division of the ongoing MPBL 2025 Season with a 20-4 win-loss record.

“In fact, our players will miss the Draft Combine on September 4 because we have a game against Bataan.”

Drafting a player with live MPBL contract is nothing new.

Last year, Justine Baltazar was tapped by Converge as its top overall pick. He, however, had to sit out in his first few months with the FiberXers to help Pampanga beat Quezon in a dramatic finale, where he emerged as tournament MVP and Finals MVP for the second straight year.

Quezon is not the only powerhouse team that has players in the draft.

Playoff contenders Abra, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Pangasinan and Zamboanga are also expected to lose some of their key players if ever they get selected in the annual selection process. They, however, can only play as soon as their respective contracts in the MPBL have lapsed.

The Weavers, who are on top of the North Division with a 22-1 card, will lose Filipino-American playmaker Jason Brickman, former Ateneo de Manila University slotman Geo Chiu and former De La Salle University standouts CJ Austria and Joshua David.

Also part of the draft pool are Christian Manaytay of the Rice Vanguards, King Gurtiza and Harvey Pagsanjan of the Heatwaves, Dawn Ochea of the Rum Masters and Reggs Gabat and John Paul Cauilan of the SiKat.