A former member of the Harlem Globetrotters named Maurice Shaw emerged as the tallest player among the 71 PBA aspirants who showed up on Thursday for Day One of the Gatorade Draft Combine at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.
The 34-year old, who went undrafted in the 2004 NBA Draft and, later on played in Europe and Puerto Rico, was measured at 6-foot-8 1/2 .
While all eyes are trained on top pick prospect Isaac Go of Ateneo, Shaw has likewise attracted coaches and team representatives with his built, size and strength.
Shaw, who also tried American football before coming to Manila, did 27 reps of bench and shared the honors in that department with another little-known named Prince Rivero.
Forward Yankie Haruna of St. Benilde topped the vertical leap test with a heave of 36 inches, highest among the aspirants.
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Hubert Cani of FEU, meanwhile, emerged victorious in the lane agility test with a speed of 11.28 seconds.
La Salle guard Kib Montalbo also made his mark, completing the 3/4 court sprint with the best time of 3.44 seconds.
The second day of activity will be more tedious as players are going to be divided into four teams to be bunched into two groups (Group A-1,A-2, A-3, A-4 and B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4) and play a series of games starting at 9 a.m.
Each game is played eight minutes per quarter, with ties to be broken via PBA quotient.
The top team in each group will later play in a one-game final.
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Following the five-on-five games, there will be a three-point shootout with the participants to be selected by the camp sponsor Gatorade.
Awarding ceremonies conclude the entire Draft Combine.
The 2019 Draft is set on Dec. 8 at the Robinson's Place in Ermita. (RL)
