MANILA - Former NCAA Most Valuable Player John Wilson and three Filipino-Foreign players lead early applicants in the 2010 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft on Aug. 29 in Taguig City.
The 6’3” Wilson, who gave up his last playing year with the Jose Rizal Heavy Bombers in favor of his desire to turn professional, and Josh Tomas Vanlandingham are among the list of 11 players confirming their availability for the annual draft.
Among the current members of the RP-Smart Gilas team, only Rafael Joey Jazul Jr. signified his intention to join the pro-league. There was no confirmation yet from former Ateneo de Manila University’s stars Chris Tiu and Al-Hussaine Rabeh as well as Cebu’s 6’11” Greg Slaughter.
Vanlandingham is from Seattle,USA and saw action for Everett CC upon arriving here. He also played for Hapee Toothpaste in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) and helped lead the team to a runner-up finish in 2009. He also played with Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood and Jervy Cruz as well as Barako Coffee’s Reed Juntilla in the US.
The 26-year old forward Vanlandingham is the great grandson of Filipino Olympic swimming bronze medalist Teofilo Yldefonso.
Also in the list are Fil-Ams Robert Francis Simpson Jr. from Eckerd College and Sean Paranada of Chabot College. Simpson played briefly with the Cobra Energy Drink in the PBL.
The PBA commissioner’s office announced that all foreign-based players who wish to join the draft have until Wednesday to submit their applications and necessary documes.
NCAA Finals MVP Jimbo Aquino of San Sebastian Stags likewise served notice of joining the draft along with Philippine Christian University’s Liztian Amparado, Fredrick Donato Malabago, Elijah Swan, Froilan Asence Saquillo Jr. and Angelo Rey Gonzales.