Without further ado, here they are – the top five rookies of the 2014-2015 PBA season:
*This is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net.
5. Chris Banchero (ALA) - 7.0ppg, 3.3rpg, 2.2apg, 40.6 FG%, 20.8 EFF
- The former ABL playmaker wasn’t the league-beating PG that some people probably thought he could be, but he did have his stellar moments and was still solid most of the time. I doubt if he’ll supplant JV Casio as Alaska’s #1 floor general, but he could be a good running mate in the long term. A Casio-Banchero combo mentored by Alex Compton? Yeah, sure, that could work.
4. Jake Pascual (BAR) - 6.2ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.2apg, 39.1 FG%, 21.0 EFF
- The former Bedan has the makings of at least being as good as Jervy Cruz, but, if he plays his cards right, he may be the next coming of Marc Pingris. He’s undersized, but he has great footwork, bursting-at-the-seams tenacity, and he can finish well around the basket (yes, despite what his FG% suggests). If he can consistently get more playing time, he should be a legit double-double guy for the Energy.
3. Matt Ganuelas-Rosser (TNT) - 8.5ppg, 4.1rpg, 1.5apg, 1.1bpg, 50.6 FG%, 25.6 EFF
- MGR would be the perfect swingman if he only had an outside shot worth writing home about. As he’s currently built, however, he’s TNT’s version of… Shawn Marion? Freakish athleticism? Check. Great size at the 3 spot? Check. Defensive gem? Check. Awkward perimeter game? Double-check. Heck, if Cliff Hodge can learn to shoot the three, then maybe MGR has a chance, too, right?
2. Brian Heruela (BLA) - 10.6ppg, 4.9rpg, 5.2apg, 1.5spg, 43.1 FG%, 28.6 EFF
- Heruela is maybe one conference away from being ripe enough to be traded away to a major team by the Elite. No kidding. He’s that good and too good to remain in a slumping expansion team. Plug him in a PG-starved team like Meralco, and he can do wonders beyond even coach Norman Black’s wildest imagination.
1. Stanley Pringle (GLO) - 14.0ppg, 5.9rpg, 3.9apg, 1.5spg, 1.4 triples per game, 35.8 3pt%, 46.6 FG%, 75.8 FT%, 32.7 EFF
- It’s almost unfair to call Pringle a rookie, since he doesn’t play like one and, frankly speaking, he’s too old to be one. Still, one cannot deny that, in just his first season in the PBA, he has already wowed more than a few hoop nuts. Heck, he’s so good that, if he were eligible, he would’ve certainly been a shoo-in to be in the 2015 Gilas Pilipinas pool. Given his relatively advanced age, he has maybe a little more than a handful of productive years ahead of him, but, man, those few future seasons promise to be pretty awesome.
Honorable Mentions:
Jericho Cruz (ROS) - 19.2 EFF
Kevin Alas (TNT) - 17.3 EFF
Rodney Brondial (GIN) - 16.3 EFF
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Brian Heruela to gilas pool.
Balas