Will Jason Brickman Get Drafted in the PBA and Transform Philippine Basketball?

The humid air in the MOA Arena hangs thick with anticipation, a familiar cocktail of sweat, popcorn, and collective hope. I’m wedged into my usual seat, high enough to see the entire chessboard of the court. Down below, the Barangay Ginebra squad is running drills, a blur of red and white. My eyes, like many others here, aren't just following the ball; they're searching for number 7, Jason Brickman. The question on my mind, the one I’ve been debating with my friends over cheap San Miguel beers, is the same one whispering through the stands: Will Jason Brickman get drafted in the PBA and transform Philippine basketball?

I remember the first time I saw him play on a grappy YouTube stream from the ASEAN Basketball League. It wasn't his scoring that caught my eye; it was the way he saw the game. He had this preternatural calm, a sixth sense for passing lanes that seemed to defy physics. He’d whip a no-look pass to a cutter you didn't even know was open. It was pure, unadulterated point guard poetry. And now, here he is, practicing with the likes of Mario Barasi and Mark Denver Omega. It feels surreal. You see, we Filipinos live and breathe basketball, but our style has always been… let's call it passionately chaotic. We love the highlight-reel drives, the step-back threes. But structured, pass-first offense? That’s been a rarer commodity.

Look at this Ginebra lineup. You’ve got the raw athleticism of a Kareem Hundley, the defensive grit of a Winston Jay Ynot, and the promising energy of young guns like Justine Guevarra and John Barba. They are pieces—talented, exciting pieces. But what they’ve often lacked, in my not-so-humble opinion, is a true conductor for the orchestra. Someone who can make the sum greater than its parts. For years, we’ve relied on explosive scorers to carry the load, and while it’s produced legends, it hasn't always translated to the systematic, team-oriented basketball that wins consistently at the highest international levels. Brickman represents a fundamental shift. His career average of over 9 assists per game in the ABL isn't just a number; it's a statement. It's a different basketball religion.

I can already picture it. Imagine Brickman, with the ball at the top of the key, drawing the defense. With a slight head fake, he freezes the defender, and in that split second, he fires a bullet pass to a cutting Sonny Estil for an easy layup. Or he draws the big man and lobs it up for an athletic finisher like DJ Howe. He’d make Wilfrid Nado’s life easier by finding him for open corner threes. He’d turn Isaiah Africano’s energy into calculated, high-percentage buckets. This isn't just about adding a player; it's about installing a new operating system. It’s about transforming Barangay Ginebra from a team that sometimes wins on sheer talent and crowd support to a machine that wins because it is smarter and more efficient than you.

But let's be real, the PBA draft is a fickle beast. It’s not just about talent; it’s about fit, politics, and sometimes, plain old luck. There’s a part of me that worries the old guard might see him as "just a passer," undervaluing his transformative potential because he doesn't average 25 points a game. They might look at his age or his time spent outside the traditional Philippine basketball pipeline and hesitate. I think that would be a monumental mistake, a failure of imagination. We’ve been trying to out-jump and out-shoot the world for decades with mixed results. Maybe it's time to try and out-think them.

So, as the buzzer sounds to end practice and the players head to the locker rooms, I lean back in my seat. The question remains, hanging in the air like the echo of a dribble. Will Jason Brickman get drafted in the PBA? If a smart team—and I truly hope it's Ginebra—pulls the trigger, I genuinely believe he won't just join the league; he will change its tactical DNA. He could be the catalyst that finally marries Filipino heart with a more cerebral, global style of play. It’s a risk, sure, but it’s the kind of risk that defines legacies. And frankly, it's a risk I'm desperate for someone to take.