Yet another PBA farm trade
It should not even be called a trade. It is more like a harvest. Blackwater was only given mere wages for what could have been their main building block. But I would be naive to even think that Brandon Ganuels-Rosser (BGR) would actually stay and end his career with the team that drafted him.
The whole trade sequence that constitutes BGR’s PBA career epitomizes what is wrong about the PBA today. There are 27-year old rookies, trades of top draftees in their first year, and varying levels of servitude.
Before, there were just the farm teams and the empire teams, with the other teams that still actually wanted to win caught in the middle. There are two clearly identifiable farm teams, Terrafirma (formerly known as Kia) and Blackwater. Now, it seems like other empire teams are serving as facilitators.
It would not be surprising if the PBA championships would only be distributed to three teams in a 12-team league. How exciting is that? The gate attendance numbers would not lie.
Valuable commodity
Despite the emergence of taller, talented players, there seems to be a shortage of quality big men in the PBA. There is still a gap in terms of quality, and that can be traced to grassroots development. While there may be many factors on why tall players could not succeed despite their glaring advantages, many of them can be addressed with proper training.
Of course, there are uncontrollable factors that may no longer be addressed. For one thing, the player himself may not be that interested in basketball. The main poster boy for that is EJ Feihl, the first Pinoy seven footer. That was the only way to explain how he was not able to excel, let alone dominate a field where 6’5″ players tasked to guard him.
However, there are big men who were not challenged or trained for improvement. At lower levels of the game, they were ingrained with the mentality that height is not enough. It works for the current level, and coaches would instruct them to bully their smaller opposition. However, when they step into the next level, they are no longer the tallest or biggest players, and they need actual skills to succeed. Some would end up getting frustrated and give up.
Mental toughness should also be developed for big men. Notice that our point guards are naturally resilient, especially the undersized ones. LA Tenorio is one great example. He is always confident and unafraid even at the 2014 FIBA World Cup where he was the smallest player inside the court. Tough as nails and was the PBA’s Iron Man until nothing less than cancer stopped his run. And somehow, he overcame that, too.
These small point guards needed to scrap their way to get a roster spot, working harder, being smarter so they can be chosen over taller players. On the other hand, tall players are even begged to play, and coaches promise the moon to their parents so they can force the issue.
Brazen harvest
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, just like Christian Standhardinger, played in an environment where he was not the tallest player. He had to compete, and that’s why he is more skilled than the average 6’7″ player in the Philippines. He is just what the doctor ordered for the TNT Tropang Giga.
This is not the first time that Blackwater found a blue chip big man falling in their lap. Ironically, the first came from TNT: Poy Erram.
Erram had limited playing time in Ateneo, but the MVP team still drafted him. They sent him to Blackwater and he developed into a consistent, double-double center.
Side note: In the NBA where they talk about triple-doubles being a milestone, the PBA only has a handful of double-double local players. JuneMar Fajardo is the one constant, and he has seven MVP awards.
We’ll take a deep dive into the trade and its implications next time, and what the future holds for the PBA then.