Rain or Shine took a chance on Felix Lemetti in the recent PBA Season 49 Draft, thanks to having the luxury of two first-round picks.
After selecting a more established name in Caelan Tiongson with the seventh overall pick, the Elasto Painters picked the Fil-Swede guard at No. 8.
“Dalawa ‘yung first round pick namin. Of course, Caelan is a solid pick, and ‘yung No. 8 namin, we felt we could take chances,” head coach Yeng Guiao told reporters during the Draft at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.
“Pwedeng sugalan,” the champion bench tactician added.
“Kasi lahat naman sila, tag-iisa lang pinili nila sa first round, kami dalawa.”
Lemetti may not be well-known to most fans yet, but the RoS coaches liked what they saw from the workout they held with the 25-year-old.
“Nung nakita namin siya sa practice namin, sabi namin baka pwede itong magamit sa team,” said Guiao.
“He’s a true point guard, a solid point guard. He can score, and at the same time, he can command ‘yung team niya.”
His credentials impressed the Elasto Painters’ think-tank as well. The native of Enskede, Stockholm, played for KFUM Fryshuset Basket of the Swedish Superettan, Sweden’s second-tier men’s pro league, before joining the Draft.
That stint came after a college career that saw him play for three different NCAA Division 1 schools: first with Fairfield, then Omaha, and lastly with Southern Utah, with a JUCO stop at Salt Lake CC for his sophomore year.
Having played with Montverde Academy for a short time, Lemetti was also exposed to FIBA youth competitions. He was part of the Swedish national teams that competed in the U18 and U20 European Championships from 2016-19.
(C) FIBA.basketball
“‘Yung isang pick namin, [sabi namin na] we will take our chances based on what we saw in practice. Also, looking at his credentials, he was starting for a Division 1 school. We cannot go wrong with that,” said Guiao.
It should be intriguing to see how things will turn out with Lemetti’s arrival, given that the Elasto Painters already possess a deep backcourt rotation. But the veteran mentor projects that it won’t be much of a problem.
“We’re looking for somebody like that, although meron kaming mga point guards na talagang have learned how to play our system and how to develop skills which we require in playing our system,” Guiao explained.
“Nandiyan siyempre si Andrei, nandiyan si Anton. Si Adrian Nocum I think ‘pag pumasok si Felix, we can move him to the 2-spot para hindi masyadong masikip ‘yung point guard, so we can still give them their playing time, their minutes.”
Overall, Guiao and Co. are satisfied with their haul in the Draft. After Tiongson and Lemetti, Rain or Shine picked Ef Escandor, Mike Malonzo, and Miggy Corteza in the second round before taking Darwish Bederi in the third round.
“‘Yung mga gusto namin makuha, nakuha naman. We’re excited to have them in practice, and to try and blend them with the team,” he said.
“Of course, hindi namin kayang i-absorb lahat ‘yun. They will have to fight for their slots. We only have two or three slots vacant in our team, so ‘yun ‘yung paglalabanan nila,” the 65-year-old added.
