ALLAN THE MAN

Alaska made a splash in the first round of the PBA draft by selecting Ryan Buenafe with the eighth overall pick.

It was a reach for the Aces as Buenafe was not projected to go until middle of the second round. Coming into the draft, players such as Nico Salva, Alex Nuyles and Jeric Teng were expected to go in the first round ahead of Buenafe.

“I didn’t expect I will be their first choice in the draft. I will prove to them na hindi sila nagkamali sa akin,” said Buenafe. “There’s an added pressure, sobra because I was picked ahead of Nuyles, Jeric Teng, hindi ko ini-expect na mas mauuna pa ako sa kanila. But I will prove to my team that they didn’t chose the wrong player.”

Alaska coach Luigi Trillo understood why his choice may have raised some eyebrows.

“There’s a ton of wingmen we could have chosen. They all have their strengths. At the end of the day, we saw what Ryan can bring,” Alaska coach Luigi Trillo told InterAKTV in an exclusive interview.

“He has a high basketball IQ and he’s a winner and whenever he’s gone he’s won. If guided properly and he gets influenced by the guys we have, high character guys like JVee (Casio), Dondon (Hontiveros), Tony (dela Cruz), Sonny (Thoss), Cy (Baguio) those guys will be able to influence him.”

Buenafe worked out with Alaska twice before the draft, and he said there were some difficulties adjusting to the Aces’ system.

“Medyo mahirap pala, akala ko noong pinanonood ko, madali. Kapag andun ka na pala mahirap na, pero kaya ko naman,” he said.

Buenafe has won championships in high school with San Sebastian and in college at Ateneo. But while no one denies his talent, he has battled weight and conditioning issues, while also running into problems with his academics.

“There are some things he needs to improve on. He needs to lose some weight,” said Trillo.

At the end of the day, Buenafe’s basketball IQ made him an irresistible choice for the Aces.

“I understand that he fits in what we do. They say it’s a high risk, but a very high reward, I think. He’s the type of guy you can put in the endgame and he will make right decisions,” said Trillo.

“Those guys — Nico Salva, Nuyles, they don’t pass the ball like Ryan does. He reminds me of Johnny (Abarrientos) in terms of decision making before, but he has a lot to improve on. In terms of instincts in the game, it’s one of his strengths.”

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