A TASTE of paradise awaits Fil-Am forward Caelan Tiongson when he tries his luck in the PBA rookie Draft this Sunday, July 14, at the Glorietta 4 Activity Center in Makati.
Tiongson applied for the annual proceedings last week and will be one of the 70 hopefuls raring to make it to the pro league.
The 32-year-old cager expressed his excitement, expecting tough battles in the PBA.
“I think it’s gonna be a competitive league for sure. I love the pride. I love the fan bases that come with each team so I’m expecting a lot of fun,” Tiongson said during the Draft Combine two days ago at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Back in 2019, Tiongson announced his retirement but had a change of heart in 2021. He played in Taiwan for the T1 League with Taoyuan Leopards.
The former Alab Pilipinas standout added: “So, that was back in 2019. I just had a little bit of a bad experience. I think when you play basketball overseas, it’s a hard thing to do and I think I was just thinking I was ready to be home with my family and not really dealing with some hardships of overseas basketball, but I was happy to make a return.”
“Back when I played in Taiwan, I had a really good year and decided to keep on going.”
The 6-foot-4 Tiongson disclosed he worked for an eight-hour sales job five years ago.
Tiongson, along with RJ Abarrientos and Dave Ildefonso, will miss the event due to their stint with the Strong Group-Philippines in the 43rd William Jones Cup.
Strong Group, the country’s representative in the tilt which will run from July 13 to 21, is expected to travel to Taiwan today.
“You know, it’s a bummer that you know, me, RJ and Dave are gonna have to miss the PBA Draft for sure, but I will say, I think it’s based on our professionalism. All of us made a commitment to play for Strong (Group),” he said. “All of us made the commitment to represent the Philippines and we take that seriously as professionals, so we hope that the league is understanding, of course.