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 Sta. Lucia Realtors De La Salle 4 Ernesto Ballesteros Formula Shell Zoom Masters UST 5 Lowell Briones Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys Visayas 6 Gabby Cui Sta. Lucia Realtors Ateneo de Manila 7 Edward Naron Gordon's Gin Boars Visayas 8 Angelo David Sta. Lucia Realtors FEU
Round 2 Pick Player Country of origin* PBA team College 9 Tonyboy Espinosa Mobiline Cellulars De La Salle 10 Romulo Marata Pop Cola Bottlers Adamson 11 Ronilo Padilla San Miguel Beermen Cebu 12 Freche Ang Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys Saint La Salle 13 Jay Mendoza Formula Shell Zoom Masters Mapua 14 Manuel Ortega, Jr. 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
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