I still remember the humidity clinging to my skin that evening in Manila, the electric buzz in the air as crowds gathered around television screens at local sports bars. It was December 2015, and the PBA Draft was unfolding like a dramatic telenovela where futures were written on small pieces of paper. I was nursing a San Miguel beer, arguing with my cousin about which rookie would become the next big thing. Little did we know then how many of those bright-eyed hopefuls would eventually face a different kind of selection process altogether—one that had nothing to do with basketball courts and everything to do with national pride on the global volleyball stage.
That night, 21 names were called—each one carrying dreams of PBA glory. I recall how we cheered for Moala Tautuaa going first overall, his massive frame promising to dominate the paint for years to come. We debated Troy Rosario's potential late into the night, the flavor of adobo lingering in the air as we gestured wildly about his athleticism. These moments feel like yesterday, yet today I find myself looking back at the complete 2015 PBA draft list and player outcomes with bittersweet nostalgia. What strikes me most isn't just their basketball journeys, but how their paths unexpectedly intersected with another sport's historic moment.
See, here's something most basketball fans don't realize—that very same draft class would later become central to Philippine volleyball history. Years after that draft night, when the national volleyball team was being formed for our first-ever World Championship appearance in men's volleyball, officials scoured every athletic department in the country. And guess who they looked at? Those same 2015 draftees. The physical specimens we'd celebrated for their basketball potential were now being evaluated for their volleyball prospects. From the 21 names we'd celebrated that humid night, only 14 would make the cut in the Filipinos' first-ever World Championship team in men's volleyball. That statistic still blows my mind—how nearly a third of that celebrated basketball draft class wouldn't transition successfully to the volleyball court when it mattered most for the nation.
I've always been fascinated by athletic crossover, but seeing it play out with players I'd followed since their draft night felt surreal. Take Tautuaa—his powerful build that seemed perfect for basketball's physical battles somehow didn't translate to the volleyball court's different demands. Meanwhile, players like Norbert Torres and Almond Vosotros, who'd been mid-draft picks that barely registered in our basketball conversations, suddenly became volleyball standouts. Life's funny that way—the athletes we anointed as future stars in one sport became footnotes in another, while underdogs found their moment to shine.
Watching those 14 draftees trade basketball jerseys for volleyball uniforms was one of the most fascinating sports stories I've witnessed. They moved with a different rhythm on the volleyball court—the explosive jumps we'd admired in basketball games now redirected toward spiking balls instead of dunking them. The court felt both familiar and alien, the net an unexpected barrier in careers that had been mapped out around hoops and hardwood. I remember attending their first major volleyball tournament and feeling disoriented—these were "my" basketball rookies, yet here they were diving for saves and executing plays I barely understood.
What stays with me isn't just the athletic transformation, but the emotional weight these players carried. During interviews, many confessed how terrifying the transition felt—going from masters of one craft to novices in another, all under the glaring spotlight of national expectation. The 7 who didn't make the volleyball cut faced their own quiet struggles—some returning to basketball with renewed determination, others fading from professional sports altogether. Their stories remind me that athletic careers are never straight lines, but rather unpredictable journeys full of unexpected turns.
If you'd told me back in 2015 that I'd someday be analyzing these basketball draftees' volleyball capabilities, I'd have laughed it off as another crazy sports fan theory. Yet here we are, with 14 of them preparing to represent our country in the World Championship—a tournament none of us could have imagined they'd participate in when their names were called during that fateful PBA draft. Their journey from basketball hopefuls to national volleyball representatives speaks volumes about Filipino athletic versatility—how our athletes can pivot between sports with remarkable grace when national pride calls.
As I look at the team roster today, I can't help but feel a peculiar pride—not just as a sports fan, but as someone who witnessed the beginning of their stories. That draft night in 2015 wasn't just the start of basketball careers—it was the unwitting beginning of a national volleyball team that would make history. The 21 names called that evening have traveled a road none of us predicted, proving that in sports—as in life—the most compelling stories often come from the most unexpected directions.
