The

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(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 Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

Round 1

Round 2

Notes

The top two draft picks; Andrew John Seigle and

Nic Belasco Nicholas M. Bayaca Belasco (born December 10, 1973) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player who last played for the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 2nd overall by Sunki ...

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.Pop Cola's Fil-Am recruit also fails to impress in tuneup game
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References

{{PBA draft Philippine Basketball Association draft

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...