1997 PBA draft

Player selection in Philippine basketball 1997 PBA draft January 19, 1997 Glorietta Activity Center, Makati VTV on IBC Philippine Basketball Association Andy Seigle (Mobiline Cellulars) 1996 1998 The 1997 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. The annual rookie draft was held on January 19, 1997, at the Glorietta Mall in Makati.14 rookie PBA pros picked Round 1 Pick Player Country of origin* PBA team College 1 Andrew John Seigle Mobiline Cellulars New Orleans 2 Nicholas Belasco Pop Cola Bottlers Notre Dame-Maryland 3 Jason Webb Philippines 1936 Sta. Lucia Realtors De La Salle 4 Ernesto Ballesteros Philippines 1936 Formula Shell Zoom Masters UST 5 Lowell Briones Philippines 1936 Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys Visayas 6 Gabby Cui Philippines 1936 Sta. Lucia Realtors Ateneo de Manila 7 Edward Naron Philippines 1936 Gordon's Gin Boars Visayas 8 Angelo David Philippines 1936 Sta. Lucia Realtors FEU Round 2 Pick Player Country of origin* PBA team College 9 Tonyboy Espinosa Philippines 1936 Mobiline Cellulars De La Salle 10 Romulo Marata Philippines 1936 Pop Cola Bottlers Adamson 11 Ronilo Padilla Philippines 1936 San Miguel Beermen Cebu 12 Freche Ang Philippines 1936 Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys Saint La Salle 13 Jay Mendoza Philippines 1936 Formula Shell Zoom Masters Mapua 14 Manuel Ortega, Jr. Philippines 1936 Gordon's Gin Boars SLU Notes The top two draft picks; Andrew John Seigle and Nic Belasco were born outside the Philippines. It was the first time in league history that a pure-born Filipino player was not chosen as the overall top pick.Seigle going up against PBA giantsPop Cola's Fil-Am recruit also fails to impress in tuneup game References Category:Philippine Basketball Association draft draft