The shifty guard took the MPBL with his dazzling moves and smooth game.
The 2023 PBA Draft is just around the corner, and it is already shaping up to be talent-rich—at least compared to recent years—with standouts like Ricci Rivero, Deschon "Schonny" Winston, Ken Tuffin, and Sherwin Concepcion all projected to be among the top picks.
Surprisingly, one Kyt Jimenez appears to be flying under the radar at the moment, even after making waves in the MPBL, where he proved he is more than just a YouTube sensation and a ligang labas idol.
Jimenez, of course, already applied for the PBA Draft months ago, and on Tuesday, the 5-foot-11 guard posted on Instagram a picture of himself at the PBA headquarters holding what appears to be his application form.
The caption?
“PBA Draft Applicant #48. Walang imposible, ikaw na bahala God!”
The shifty scorer, who has been out in the open in saying he idolizes PBA scorer supreme Terrence Romeo, is rightfully entrusting his draft fate to divine providence as anything can happen. He might fall to the second round, for example, or he might not get drafted at all.
Teams, though, might have to take a good, hard look at Jimenez, who played college ball at the NCAA for the University of Perpetual Help-DALTA—the same school that produced reigning PBA MVP Scottie Thompson. Unfortunately, an ACL injury forced Jimenez to lie low for a while, until he resurfaced on social media as part of Mavs Phenomenal.
After leaving Coach Mavs' lair and betting on himself, now, he is at the doorstep of the PBA thanks to his impressive showing in the MPBL, where he once recorded a mind-boggling quadruple-double of 33 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and 11 steals.
And, frankly, he really does have the moves, including quite a few eerily similar to his idol, who also happens to be one of the PBA’s best and brightest stars.
Here's Kyt weaving through the defense and confusing three defenders.
And here he is once again, doing his best George Gervin impression and pumping up his teammates in the process.
Does this mean Jimenez will be Romeo 2.0? Maybe, maybe not.
But one thing seems for certain: He has the game to be the steal of this draft.
(GM)