By JONAS TERRADO
Jason Brickman took an initial step in finally making his entry in the PBA after being one of the early applicants for the Rookie Draft slated March 14.
The PBA’s official website said that the former playmaker of San Miguel Alab Pilipinas and Mighty Sports Philippines was one of six players who formally submitted their names recently at the league office in Libis.
Other players who filed their applications were Brickman’s ex-Alab teammates Jeremiah Gray and Brandon Rosser, Andre Paras, Matthew Kyle Sanchez and Shem Kenneth Magallanes.
Brickman is set to take his act in the PBA, taking advantage of the decision to relax its rules for applicants.
Under PBA rules, Fil-foreign applicants are required to play a certain number of games in two D-League conferences in order to be eligible.
The D-League was cancelled after three playdates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 29-year-old Brickman has for years been open in his desire to join the PBA, though he opted to strut his wares in the ASEAN Basketball League.
Brickman teamed up with current Phoenix Super LPG star Matthew Wright to lead the Westports Malaysia Dragons to the 2016 ABL crown before helping Thailand’s Mono Vampire reach the 2018 finals against eventual winner Alab.
He joined Alab in the 2019-20 season which was eventually cancelled due to the pandemic.
Brickman was also a prominent member of Mighty Sports’ title victories in the 2016 and 2019 William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
The 24-year-old and 26-year-old Rosser, younger brother of San Miguel Beer’s Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, played for Alab prior to the pandemic.
Paras, known for his rebounding prowess during a PBA D-League stint with AMA Online Education several years back, was a surprise entrant given that he has been mainly focused on his showbiz career.