What Francis Lopez Departure Means

Fans of the UP Fighting Maroons were hyped with Francis Lopez' improvement. He spent a month in the United States to train, but before he could display that in UAAP Season 88 for Diliman's title defense, the shining opportunity from the Land of the Rising Sun beckoned.

The Nagoya Fighting Eagles (yes, a combo of Lopez' school monikers) signed "Lebron" Lopez to a three-year deal. One that the Maroons' boosters could not, or chose not to match.

Did the call come too soon? Some had that opinion, since players like Kevin Quiambao and even Carl Tamayo were more developed than Lopez is now. Both KQ and Carl were leaders of their schools when they led them to a title, and Lopez was not, or at least, not yet. However, it can be argued that Lopez had more upside than the two. Upside is subjective, and it's not even a quantifiable concept.

Nonetheless, the Nagoya club had seen enough, and Francis deserved it. Despite his superior athletic gifts, he continued to chip away at his weaknesses, and even went abroad to further his training. You could see that he really wanted to spread his wings and was looking beyond the local horizon.

The Four Tiers of Philippine Basketball

Lopez is not the first Filipino to play as an Asian import, and it looks like he won't be the last. But what Lopez and other student-athletes' departure establishes is that the UAAP is the most prestigious league in the country, in terms of talent. A better way to explain this is to identify the four tiers of Philippine basketball's young talent.

The first tier would be those who are below PBA caliber. Their niche is growing, in MPBL, PSL, NVL, and the VisMin SuperCup. The leagues have become competitive, and with many PBA players transferring there even at the peak of their careers, the talent level is nothing to scoff at.

The second tier would be PBA caliber players. That's easy enough, and there was a time when this was already the top tier. Now, they need to rely on the entry of Fil-foreigners to keep up. If the Japanese and Korean Leagues decide to revisit their eligibility rules, they may be in a more precarious position.

Side note: The PBA may be safe because it was reported that if there would be any changes, it's in the opposite direction. Right now, the Korean Basketball League requires their Asian imports to be fully Asian, regardless of FIBA eligibility. The Japanese B. League requires players to be FIBA eligible for their home country (which is why most of Gilas is there).

What's higher than PBA caliber? Players who were too good for the PBA. These players were UAAP stars, but they never set foot, and likely would not come running home in the near future. Carl and KQ are examples, and now Lopez. Thirdy Ravena was the pioneer.

Also in the KBL, former UAAP and also NCAA stalwarts SJ Belangel, Juan Gomez de Llano, Justin Gutang and recently crowned KBL Rookie of the Year JD Cagulangan.

Not included in this list are Kiefer Ravena, Ray Parks, and Matthew Wright because they played in the PBA. You may notice that in this tier, there are top Filipino players who played in the UAAP, but not the PBA. That is why the UAAP is the top league in terms of talent. But there is still one tier higher.

Cream of the Crop

The highest tier of Philippine basketball talent are those who were so advanced, they did not even need the senior-level UAAP or NCAA. Dwight Ramos did not get to play in the UAAP, but B. League teams took him. Same with Kai Sotto and AJ Edu. You can also include Remy Martin in the mix.

Quentin Millora Brown loses his slot here since he was one-and-done for the Fighting Maroons. With his eligibility still not fully established, he could not play in Japan as well.

Unless the PBA teams aggressively pursue international level talent, they would still be in a lower tier. Fil-foreigners like QMB or Mike Phillips are their only hope.