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RR Garcia not thinking about draft position

RR Garcia. (Czeasar Dancel/NPPA Images)

He may be a projected high first-rounder, but former Far Eastern University guard RR Garcia isn’t worrying about where he might land in Sunday’s 2013 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft.

Picked by most observers to be drafted quickly in this rich rookie pool, Garcia still isn’t looking too far ahead. Right now, he just wants to get drafted, period.

“I’m not really expecting anything,” said the former UAAP Most Valuable Player in Filipino. “What’s important is I get drafted.”

The draft features what many are calling the deepest pool of talent in years, and projected to go 1-2-3 are big men Greg Slaughter of Ateneo, Ian Sangalang of San Sebastian and Raymond Almazan of Letran. Barangay Ginebra, San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine own the first three picks.

After those three, the names of Garcia, Terrence Romeo, James Forrester and Jeric Teng have been mentioned as possible picks. The Barako Bull Energy Cola will be drafting from fourth to sixth, and it’s possible they will use one of those picks on Garcia.

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In fact, the former Gilas cadet pool member admitted that so far he has worked out only with Barako Bull, although he also has a pending invitation from GlobalPort. The Batang Pier have the seventh overall pick.

“A lot of people have been telling me I’ll be a top 10 pick,” he said. “But you’ll never know until your name is actually called.”

Chances are, though, he will be taken in the first round, and he himself admitted he would be a good fit for Barako Bull, noting that “they need a point guard.”

Although he spent some time at off-guard during his UAAP career, the deadeye shooter knows he will most likely play the point in the pros because of his small frame.

“With my height, it will be tough (to play off-guard),” he said. At the Rookie Camp’s biometric testing, Garcia’s official height was measured at 5’9 ½”.

Defense is the one aspect of his game that he needs to work on, since, in his words, “there are so many good players in the PBA.”

“I won’t need to be shooting all the time because there are other players who can score,” he said. “In the PBA you also have to contribute on defense.”