I still remember that humid August evening in 2014, sitting in my cramped Quezon City apartment with the television flickering as the Philippine Basketball Association draft unfolded. The air conditioner was fighting a losing battle against the tropical heat, much like how many of these young hopefuls would soon find themselves battling against the realities of professional basketball. There was this electric feeling in the air - both on screen and in my tiny living room - that we were witnessing the birth of the next generation of basketball legends. Fast forward nearly a decade later, and I find myself wondering about those bright-eyed prospects. Looking back at the 2014 PBA draft pick class, where are they now?
Some names immediately spring to mind - the headline grabbers, the franchise players who became household names. But today, I want to talk about the other stories, the ones that didn't make front-page sports sections but tell us just as much about the unpredictable journey of professional athletes. I recently found myself scrolling through old game footage from NCAA seasons past, and there he was - this lanky kid named Bravo dominating the paint for Lyceum. The memory hit me like a perfectly executed pick-and-roll. I'd actually watched him play against my alma mater back in 2014, and even from the bleachers, you could see the raw potential in his movements.
The statistics still stick in my mind, probably because I'm the type of fan who obsessively tracks player development. During his final collegiate season before turning pro, the 6-foot-4 Bravo played seven games and averaged 9.7 points and 7.0 rebounds for Lyceum. Those numbers might not jump off the page to casual fans, but anyone who understands basketball could see the foundation of a reliable big man. I remember thinking at the time that he'd be a perfect role player for any PBA team needing interior presence. But professional sports rarely follow the scripts we write in our heads.
What fascinates me about tracking these players isn't just where they ended up, but the winding paths they took to get there. Some from that draft class found immediate success, while others bounced between teams, between leagues, even between countries. A few transitioned to coaching, one surprisingly opened a successful restaurant in Mandaluyong, and others simply faded from public view. There's something profoundly human about these journeys - the triumphs and disappointments that never make the highlight reels.
I once ran into Bravo's college coach at a sports bar in Ortigas, and we ended up sharing a beer while talking about that 2014 draft class. He told me stories about players I'd completely forgotten - the second-round picks who never got signed, the practice squad members who eventually found careers overseas, the ones who discovered that professional basketball wasn't their calling after all. It reminded me that for every June Mar Fajardo (who, let's be honest, is in a league of his own), there are dozens of players navigating more complicated careers.
The truth is, my fascination with tracking these players stems from my own failed basketball dreams. I never had the height or talent to play beyond college intramurals, but I've always lived vicariously through these athletes. There's a special connection you feel to players you watched from their collegiate days, through the draft, and into their professional careers. You celebrate their successes as if they're old friends and feel their setbacks more personally than you'd expect.
What the 2014 draft class taught me is that success in basketball comes in many forms. Some measure it by championships won, others by career earnings, and some by the simple ability to keep playing the game they love years later. When I think about players like Bravo and his contemporaries, I'm reminded that every draft class produces not just stars, but a rich tapestry of stories - some triumphant, some heartbreaking, but all uniquely compelling. These athletes become part of our collective sports memory, their careers weaving into the fabric of Philippine basketball history in ways both big and small. And if there's one thing I've learned from following their journeys, it's that the most interesting stories often belong to the players you have to look a little harder to find.