MANILA, Philippines—With four days left before the 2025 PBA Draft, the San Miguel Beermen have yet to decide on a pick for the annual rookie selection process.

That doesn’t mean coach Leo Austria lacks a preferred player archetype — but at the ninth spot, he knows they’ll likely need to settle for the best talent available.

“As of now, we’re not pinpointing a particular because at No. 9, most likely, the talent we’d really want won’t be there anymore for our turn,” Austria said.

“We’ll settle for the best talent available at No. 9 then we’ll see. We also don’t have any trade pieces because first of all, we want to reward the players who are without us.”

Avan Nava, San Miguel Beermen’s pick in the PBA Rookie Draft. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The “reward” Austria referred to is tied to the Beermen’s most recent accomplishment: winning the PBA Philippine Cup at the expense of TNT.

But that chapter is closed. It’s now the season for rounding out rosters, and the Draft is a key step in that process.

San Miguel didn’t have much luck in last year’s Draft.

The Beermen selected Avan Nava with the 12th overall pick, Abdul Sawat in the third round, and Ralph Robin in the fourth.

However, Sawat and Robin never suited up for the team, and Nava was eventually traded to NorthPort for budding big man JM Calma.

This year, the Beermen are hoping to change their luck in the lottery.