Seven products of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) have been cleared to join the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft this Sunday, March 14.
These are guards Bong Nuñez, Joel Christian Lee Yu, Jerie Marlon Pingoy and Jun Manzo, and forwards Leonard Santillan, Mark Olayon, Rey Acuno.
These players are part of a massive 86-man list that PBA teams will choose from in the draft this Sunday.
From this batch of Cesafi products, versatile forward Leonard Santillan holds the most promise of being a top pick owing to his successful stints with the University of the Visayas (UV) in the Cesafi, La Salle in the UAAP, Marinerong Pilipino in the D-League, the Bataan Risers and Zamboanga in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 circuit.
Manzo, another UV product is also expected to garner some attention owing to his days playing for the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and Zamboanga.
Nuñez and Lee Yu are defensive-oriented guards who are currently playing for Cebu-Casino Ethyl Alcohol in the MPBL. Olayon, who played for Cebu Eastern College in high school, is also on the roster of Cebu’s MPBL squad.
Pingoy, a former University of Cebu Baby Webmaster, is a two-time former UAAP juniors MVP who also had stints with Ateneo and Adamson in the UAAP while Acuno used to play for Southwestern University before moving on to the University of the East. (JNP)