Drafting talent is an inexact science. It is a win-some, lose-some proposition, with the winners getting game-changers or franchise players and the losers getting duds and, well, wasted draft picks.
And while it is fun and proper to highlight the crown jewels of previous drafts—the Terrence Romeos and the Stanley Pringles and the Christian Standhardingers—for living up to their pre-draft hype, talking about those who bombed seems to make as much sense, if only to remind all of us that, yes, drafting talent is an inexact science.
And that’s exactly what we will do in this list.
But, for this exercise, we will limit our list of busts beginning with the 2000 PBA Draft because our schema of local hoops is fuzzy at best pre-2000s. Besides, it would be too long of a list if we included draft busts of the 1990s and 1980s.
So, with all that being said, we present to you our picks for the PBA’s biggest draft busts since 2000:
Dino Aldeguer – Third pick, Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs, 2000 PBA Draft
For a while, when he was playing for the La Salle Green Archers, Aldeguer was arguably the best point guard in collegiate basketball. He even showed he could be clutch, hitting a mammoth game-tying triple in Game 3 of the 1999 UAAP finals that helped La Salle repulse the UST Growling Tigers for a second consecutive title.
But, alas, Aldeguer never panned out in the PBA.
He was immediately waived by Purefoods even if it needed a successor to aging point guards Dindo Pumaren and Boyet Fernadez. And he couldn’t quite carve out a niche as a member of the Alaska Aces, who at that time were searching for a backup to Johnny Abarrientos.
For someone who has so much success in the collegiate and amateur ranks, Aldeguer could only muster per-game averages of 1.3 points, 0.6 rebound, and 0.4 assist in 16—16!—games in the PBA.
Rommel Adducul – Second Pick of the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 2003 PBA Draft
Adducul back in the late 1990s was widely regarded as the top big man in the college ranks—even better than Danny Ildefonso. And his four straight NCAA titles and two NCAA MVPs underscored that lofty ranking.
The former San Sebastian Stag, though, took his act to the then-upstart Metropolitan Basketball Association, where he faded in relative obscurity as Ildefonso’s stock rose as the PBA’s best young big of the early 2000s.
But that didn’t deter Ginebra from taking Adducul as the second overall pick of the 2003 PBA Draft.
And, to be fair, Adducul was solid in his three years as a King, averaging 8.9 points and 8.3 boards a game. Then again, he was never the impact player he was projected to be, and he ultimately settled in as a high-draft-pick role player.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini – Second Pick of the Air21 Express, 2010 PBA Draft Pick
Back-to-back UAAP champion with the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Back-to-back UAAP MVP.
That’s how good Al-Hussaini was in college.
He was pretty darn good as a rookie for Air21, too, averaging 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds on his way to being named the 2011 PBA Rookie of the Year.
Then, seemingly in a snap of a finger, Al-Hussaini became unreliable—and unpredictable. And just like that, what was once a promising pro career devolved into countless what-ifs and what-could-have-beens.
James Forrester – Fourth pick of the Barako Bull Energy Cola [traded to Ginebra], 2013 PBA Draft
Despite an up-and-down collegiate career for the Arellano Chiefs in the NCAA, Forrester was still highly regarded coming into the 2013 PBA Draft after averaging 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in the PBA D-League.
Besides, he was 6-foot-2, well-built, and a fantastic athlete. He was also traded to Ginebra, where his high-flying ways seemed a natural fit for the barangay’s high-octane style.
Yet, for some reason, nothing about Forrester’s game translated to the PBA—not his athleticism, not his physicality, not his shooting.
In fact, he was out of the league after just three years.
Ryan Buenafe – Eighth pick of the Alaska Aces, 2013 PBA Draft
Buenafe might not have been the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ main man per se, but he was a big-time playmaker in his UAAP days. In fact, his natural talent was legendary back in the day, particularly his ability to go one-on-one and score in bunches.
That shotmaking meant Buenafe was a natural fit for the more free-flowing style of the pros, where individual talent rules the roost so to speak.
Alas, Buenafe was no ace for the Aces. Neither did he electrify as a member of the Meralco Bolts. Whether it was his easy-go-luck attitude, his fluctuating weight or his notoriously suspect work ethic, the former Blue Eagle never figured it out in Asia’s first pay-for-play league.
Raymar Jose – Fourth pick of the Blackwater Elite, 2017 PBA Draft
Jose was a monster for the FEU Tamaraws, punctuating his UAAP career with a Mythical Five selection in Season 79 after being the only local to post a double-double average (11.1 points and 11.0 rebounds).
So, when he applied for the 2017 PBA Draft, he was projected to at the very least become one of the league’s premier rebounders—a workhorse in the paint who’ll produce through sheer hard work and effort alone.
Five seasons later, Jose is averaging 2.8 rebounds per game in his career and has made little to no impact for Blackwater and, later, Meralco. The silver lining is that he seems to be getting more minutes lately, which means he might still have a chance to turn things around.
Just missed the cut
Samigue Emman – Second pick of the San Miguel Beermen, 2007 PBA Draft
Nonoy Baclao – Second pick of the Air21 Express, 2010 PBA Draft
Ronald Pascual – Third pick of the Barako Bull Energy, 2014 PBA Draft
(CF)