PBA draft prospects Ricci Rivero & Stephen Holt on Sports Desk | Sports Desk - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

With the PBA draft coming up let's find out how some of the top prospects of the draft are preparing for the next stage.  Joining me via Zoom to have an all out conversation are PBA draft prospects Ricci Rivero and Stephen Holt who joins us all the way from Portland Oregon.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 draft coming up. Let's find out how some of the top prospects of the draft are

00:04 preparing for the next stage of their careers. Joining us right now via Zoom to

00:09 have an all-out conversation about the PBA draft is our prospects Richie

00:14 Rivero and Stephen Holt and both are joining us via Zoom. Richie is I believe

00:21 somewhere at his gym while Stephen is joining us from Portland, Oregon. Welcome

00:28 back to the show Richie and welcome to the show Stephen. Congratulations to you

00:32 for because I believe your wife just gave birth. Yeah no I appreciate you

00:38 thank you for having me. Richie welcome back. Maraming salamat. Thank you po

00:46 Kuya Andre. You know I remember having Richie Rivero for the first time I

00:51 believe it was his freshman or sophomore year back with LaSalle and now we're

00:55 talking about him moving on to the PBA. Well thank you both again for being here.

01:00 Richie a lot of fans have been looking forward to seeing you join the draft and

01:04 now you are here. You attended the draft combine two days. Kwento mo samin Chi

01:08 kamusta yung assessment mo dun sa naging performance mo in the two days

01:14 that you participated in the combine. Satisfied ka ba sa pinakita mo o hindi?

01:23 Actually Dre, mayirip kasi talaga na parang ikaw yung nalapit kusa dun sa gusto

01:35 mong ma-achieve dun sa combine. Kasi for example like what happened earlier

01:40 medyo marami yung mismatch compared to dun sa kalaban namin compared to our team.

01:46 Pero for me kasi mas tingin ko mas naging parang ako yung nag-adjust dun sa nangyayari.

01:57 Na naging spacer ako kasi everyone wants to siyempre showcase their talents

02:05 diba? So mas binigyan ko rin siyempre lahat ng gusto mag-try dun sa team na

02:14 okay kung gagawa sila ng on their own I'll try to be a spacer or give them at

02:22 least a lane to drive or to get open. Chi, nakikita natin mga highlights mo and

02:31 we've seen you play ever since as I said you were in Nakita Kita kahit sa

02:36 NCA Junior's PILS GH and then even some mga camps ni Stephen Curry tapos sa

02:42 UAAP from LaSalle to UP. I've seen you play. Sabi ko nga siya, tinanong ko nga

02:49 kung contento ka sa pinakita mo. Based dun sa two days ng draft combine how would

02:54 you rate your performance and say binigay ko na lahat tingin ko kaya kong mag

03:02 first round or even top five top three picks in the draft?

03:07 I gave my best. Siguro not everyone would understand kung ano yun nangyayari

03:19 especially dun sa ibang games kanina but I know the coaches knows diba kung ano yun

03:26 nangyayari kung ano yung ginagawa ng player kung bakit ganito yung nagiging reaction nila or

03:31 whatsoever. Kaya for me yun lang naman din yung gusto kong malaman ng coaches

03:40 makita ng coaches on my side na gusto kong mag-refit ako dun sa system, mag-adjust ko dun sa

03:47 nangyayari sa court. Ahayaan ko rin yung teammates ko to make decisions on their

03:55 own para nag-jegel kami instead of me trying to get the ball para sa sarili ko

04:05 pero gumugulo yung nangyayari. So sa akin kasi mas gusto ko yung

04:12 ito kaya na itong role niya for now and then if coach asks for more

04:23 and then that's the time na mas kailangan ko mag-step up to be that guy yung

04:29 yung hinahanap ng coach.

04:31 So let's go to the projected number one overall pick Stephen Holt. Stephen again

04:36 welcome to the show for the first time congratulations to you you were unable to

04:40 attend the draft combine for two days because the PBA says your wife just gave

04:46 birth to a healthy bouncing baby boy congratulations so a lot of emotions

04:51 running through through your mind I'm sure and there at the Holt household

04:56 how's everything how's fatherhood treating you and is there a sense of is

05:00 there a little bit of regret that you weren't able to showcase what you can do

05:04 especially in the draft combine yeah for first of all just you know thanks for

05:10 having me it's 530 early in the morning over here on the west coast time but uh

05:15 you know it's a lot of sleepless nights you know it's our first child that we've

05:18 had and like you said it's a baby boy and he arrived you know about three and

05:22 a half weeks a little bit early so I've had to you know stay a little bit home

05:26 a little bit longer and you know make sure baby's good and wife's good and

05:30 then you know eventually make my time over to Manila for for the PBA for this

05:34 upcoming season but obviously you know I would have loved to you know be at the

05:40 combine get a you know meet you know future coaches organizations you know

05:45 compete against you know you know for sure that you know future you know maybe

05:49 teammates and competitors it would have been a great experience but you know how

05:53 to put family first in this situation but again you know I can't wait to get

05:57 out to Manila whoever drafts me you know they're gonna get no guy that's gonna

06:02 work hard he's gonna be a great teammate and hopefully can make an impact on and

06:06 off the court so I'm you know really excited to take this next step in my

06:09 long basketball journey well Stephen as I said you are projected to be the top

06:16 overall pick in the upcoming PBA draft you've been under the radar for some

06:21 people although I've heard about your name time and time again I also remember

06:26 coach shot there is even keeping an eye on you even way back in 2011 if I'm not

06:31 mistaken let's talk about you and what you want to of course when we talk about

06:37 Richard Rivero he's been in the spotlight all his career but you what

06:42 can you say about you finally getting here after playing in so many countries

06:48 and then finally at 31 years old joining the PBA draft and all roads led through

06:54 this eventually joining the Philippine Basketball Association for you Stephen

06:59 yeah it was just the perfect timing now in my career you know at the end of each

07:04 season you know I was always getting messages on all over social media like

07:08 are you gonna come to the Philippines or eventually gonna come to Philippines and

07:11 I wasn't until this summer in June where you know I had the opportunity to

07:15 finally get my passport and once we able to get that passport it was kind of like

07:19 a no-brainer for me to kind of take the next jump in commitment to join the PBA

07:25 and playing the Philippines but um you know how long long career so far in

07:29 Europe nine years playing in you know all over in the top leagues in the world

07:33 Spain Australia Russia Sylvana you name it it's been a blessing for me to be

07:40 able to travel the world and play in that type of environment so definitely

07:44 you know when I come in for whoever drafts me you know first pick third pick

07:48 wherever you know wherever I go I'm definitely gonna try and make an impact

07:51 on and off the floor and affect the game in a positive way and just you know

07:55 again showcase what I what I can do. Which team if given a choice which team

08:01 Richie and Stephen would you want to play for and who else or is there any

08:07 player or players in particular that you want to face in your first game or your

08:12 dream matchup answer those questions after we take a really quick break stay

08:17 where you are all-out conversation with PBA top draft prospects Richie Rivero

08:22 and Stephen Holt will come back Sports Ask Only here on CNN Philippines and still with us

08:26 today our guests PBA top draft prospects Richie Rivero and Stephen Holt. Stephen

08:32 as I said earlier you weren't able to participate in the two days of the draft

08:37 combine because your wife just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy are you

08:41 gonna have some private workouts with some teams in the league whenever you're

08:44 arriving here in the Philippines because the draft is already this Sunday so

08:47 what's the plan and have any teams already contacted you Stephen? Oh yeah so

08:53 my agent Marvin has been in contact pretty much with all three of the teams

08:58 that have the top three picks I spoke with the head coach of you know Rain or

09:03 Shine I think earlier this evening my time so yeah spoke with him I just

09:09 wanted to get a gauge of my commitment of you know if I get picked and

09:13 willingness to come to the PBA and you know I told him you know whoever is

09:17 draft me is gonna get Stephen Holt so um like I said I'm totally committed and

09:22 for me it doesn't matter you know where I get drafted I'm just super excited to

09:26 you know finally get this opportunity and it's been one of my goals

09:30 throughout my whole entire journey to you know at least get one season in the

09:33 PBA underneath my belt so I'm super excited. You, Richie, have played a lot of games and as I said

09:42 you're you're the spotlight was on you ever since you were really young and you

09:47 played in LaSalle, Green Hills, Taft and then UP you also had a short

09:54 stint in Taiwan and a lot of people already were asking and thinking where

09:58 will Richie play? Will he go to Japan? Will he go to Europe? Will he go here?

10:03 Will he go to Mexico? Korea? So on so forth. Why did you decide to finally okay

10:08 I'll join the PBA, Japh?

10:12 I have a lot of signs, Dre. I ask a lot of signs and

10:24 because that's what family does. You're used to it. Whenever you're unsure of

10:35 something you pray and then ask for signs, ask something that will help you

10:41 in the decision that you're going to make. And what my family and

10:49 management told me, this was the perfect timing for me to stay here and join the

10:59 draft because for the longest time since I was young, everyone who started

11:05 playing basketball here in the Philippines are looking forward to

11:09 joining the PBA because it's the highest level here in the Philippines.

11:13 So it wasn't lost because of our choices because

11:21 of course, for the longest time, we were the ones who were looking forward to it.

11:27 Personally, right? And there's so much excitement that

11:35 we used to just watch the PBA and now we're here.

11:40 Well, this is for both of you. I've asked this before the

11:46 commercial break and the league has multiple historic teams. I believe we

11:51 could also show the order in the first round for the PBA season 48 draft

11:56 happening this Sunday. Okay, but it's Tegra Fermat and then I believe

12:03 Blackwater and then Rainer Schein and then Phoenix at number four and then

12:09 number five is Northport and then number six is Enlex and then Converge and then

12:16 Meralco and then TNT and then Magnolia and then Barangay Ginebra and then San Miguel.

12:22 If given a choice, which team or teams do you want to play for, Stephen, as a

12:28 projected top overall pick? I don't know if you get to have a choice even but if

12:32 given a chance to choose, Stephen. Yeah, I mean again this whole PBA experience is

12:40 brand new to me. Growing up in America,

12:43 unfortunately, I didn't get to watch too much of the PBA or get to know too much of the

12:47 history. So for me to say, again, this is a step in that

12:50 environment. I'll be grateful for whoever picks me on Sunday and yeah,

12:56 just another chapter in my basketball journey and I'm glad I finally

12:59 can write that chapter in the Philippines. So no choice? No Barangay

13:04 Ginebra or no TNT or no San Miguel? It's just whichever team?

13:09 No, no choice for me. Again, I'm just grateful to be here and I can't wait to

13:14 make an impact. Okay, I respect that. Richie?

13:18 Actually, the same. If the first team that will trust me,

13:28 we're gonna put their trust in whoever, in the draftees. As long as we fit in the system,

13:37 we're gonna try our best to give it all on the floor and probably give what the

13:48 coach is asking, what the system is asking for us to deliver. And then

13:55 for the teams, I'd say it's just a bonus if we go to a team that has

14:03 endogenous support and all. But for me, I see that all the teams are

14:09 trying to be competitive to win the title. So whoever

14:17 trusts us, we'll give everything. And Stephen's answer is correct.

14:24 Okay, so which players are you looking forward to be guarding or having a

14:30 matchup in the PBA? And if I am a general manager or owner of a team, why should I

14:36 draft? Richie Rivero, why should I draft? Stephen Holt, answer those questions

14:41 after we take another quick timeout. You're watching Sports Ask Only here on

14:45 CNN Philippines where we go all out for the day's top sports stories. Stay tuned.

14:49 Hello, thank you for joining us and we're still chatting with our guests today. PBA Top Draft

14:54 prospects Richie Rivero and Stephen Holt. Okay, I did ask this. I wish I had more

15:00 time. I wish this was a one-hour show with Stephen Holt and Richie Rivero. But

15:05 give me names of players that you want to face, especially in your

15:09 first game. Richie, you.

15:13 I'm probably one of my previous teammates in college. I'm excited because I've been

15:23 talking to some of them during this whole summer preparing for this draft.

15:31 And I'm excited to again play with my previous teammates and get to enjoy the

15:42 court together again. So, the competition is there.

15:49 Yeah, Kib Montalvo, Aljun Melesio, Trotter, Jarronteng, Perkins. How about you, Stephen?

15:58 Do you have any names that you want to face? Any players?

16:04 Like I mentioned earlier in the show, this whole experience is new to me and I haven't been able to watch too much of the PBA.

16:10 So, I'm going to learn pretty fast who the best players are in the league and try and adapt.

16:15 And hopefully my game can translate into the league. But like I said, I'll be ready to compete from day one.

16:21 And hopefully it can have a positive impact.

16:26 Quickly, why should we draft Richie Rivero? Why should we draft Stephen Holt?

16:33 Stephen?

16:36 I think the first reason is pretty obvious. It's just my experience.

16:41 My career being able to play in all these top leagues in Europe and have success for a long period of time.

16:47 I've been healthy throughout my whole career. I haven't had any surgeries, no injuries, and haven't even missed a single game.

16:54 So, I've been very blessed to stay healthy. I'm a 6'4", combo guard, athletic.

17:00 I take pride in the defensive end and can score in multiple ways on the offensive end.

17:06 I definitely feel like my game will translate. And again, it's just up to me to be a good teammate,

17:11 work hard every day, and just worry about winning. And the rest will control itself.

17:17 Richie, quickly, why should we draft Richie Rivero?

17:22 Me, Dre? Aside from what I've seen from the coaches and managers and all,

17:33 my performances in the previous years.

17:37 And this year, I'm just more eager because

17:42 my Taiwan stint was kind of overlooked.

17:47 I was eager to get back on the court and play competitive basketball again.

17:55 I was asked this earlier, and to me,

18:03 of the teams I've played in, Dre, you're aware of them,

18:09 and you're able to play all the roles that you're best at.

18:17 You need to be a decoy, you need to shoot, you need to be down-timed.

18:23 Things like that. I've been through all the roles.

18:27 And I think at some point, it's not bad to play a performance.

18:35 Yeah. Well, the best of luck to you both of you. Again, I wish I had more time chatting with you.

18:40 Thank you so much, Stephen. Congratulations to you and your wife again.

18:43 Thank you again, Richie. We'll see you Sunday. Good luck to both of you top PBA prospects,

18:48 Stephen Holt and Richie Rivero.

18:50 Now let's find out the answer to our quiz question of the day.

18:53 The question was, who is the only player in PBA history to win the MVP title in his rookie year?

18:58 Of course, the Tower of Power is the correct answer.

19:01 One and only Benji Paras back in 1989.

19:06 Thank you so much, Richie and Stephen. Good luck again this Sunday in the draft.

19:09 We've reached today's finish line. Join us again live at 8.30 p.m. tomorrow for today's Top Sports Stories.

19:14 I'm Andre Felix. Thank you so much for tuning in to SportsSF and we'll meet you here on CNN Philippines.

19:18 The final word is up next. Stay tuned.

PBA draft prospects Ricci Rivero & Stephen Holt on Sports Desk | Sports Desk

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