Barangay Ginebra San Miguel utilized the no. 13 pick it received from NorthPort via trade last Friday and nabbed Brian Enriquez in the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft, Sunday afternoon at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong.
The Philippine Cup champs were originally set to pick last in the second round. They traded the no. 24 pick and Jerrick Balanza to the Batang Pier to go up, giving them back-to-back picks since they also had the 12th selection.
The Gin Kings picked Ken Holmqvist to round out the first batch.
Enriquez is a Fil-Am guard who can also play three positions. He should have been a one-and-done with University of the East, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made him change his plans, leading to his decision to join the PBA.
A product of NCAA Division II school William Woods, Enriquez said in an interview with Tiebreaker Times that he comes in as someone relatively unknown. But that’s about to change after this high a selection.
“I’m so excited for the opportunity. I wanna thank coach Tim Cone and the Ginebra family for taking a chance on me. I’m just really blessed and grateful,” Enriquez expressed.
Meanwhile, Reymark Acuno of University of the East and Joshua Torralba of Makati Super Crunch went to Blackwater with the 14th and 15th picks. Alaska picked Fil-Canadian shooter Taylor Browne at 16th, while Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 product Franky Johnson was Rain or Shine’s pick at 17th.
Phoenix Super LPG loaded up its backcourt with Bacoor’s Nick Demusis (18) and La Salle’s Aljun Melecio (19). NLEX took University of the Philippines’ David Murrell at no. 20. Meanwhile, the Aces added another guard as they used their 21st pick on FEU product Alec Stockton.
The Elasto Painters brought in Anton Asistio of Ateneo and Andrei Caracut of La Salle with the 22nd and 23rd picks. The Batang Pier drafted former UE player Mark Olayon with the 24th pick to wrap up the round.
