2 Ilonggo guards shoot their way to the 2025 PBA Draft

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Two Ilonggo hoops stars finally turned their dreams into reality.

From the collegiate scene to the big boys’ league, Pavia’s John Bryan Sajonia and the pride of MH Del Pilar, Jaro, Franz Diaz, can now officially call themselves professional basketball players after getting selected during the 2025 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft on Sept. 7, 2025.

Sajonia, who last played for the San Beda Red Lions in the NCAA, was drafted by the NorthPort Batang Pier in the fourth round.

Diaz, the former team captain of the Centro Escolar University (CEU) Scorpions, was selected in the 10th round by the Terrafirma Dyip franchise.

Sajonia will join a talented pool of guards in NorthPort, backing up the rotation of Fran Yu, Joshua Munzon, Jio Jalalon, and Jerrick Balanza.

The former Santa Clarita International School of Iloilo superstar will also have the luxury to learn from one of the best forwards to ever lace a pair of kicks in the PBA, Mr. Calvin Abueva.

Meanwhile, Diaz will have a sense of familiarity with the Terrafirma franchise as Ronald Rubid, their head coach, is also an Ilonggo who hails from Oton.

The pesky two-way guard will also be teaming up with Mark Nonoy, a former standout from the Hua Siong College of Iloilo who made waves in the UAAP playing for UST and DLSU.

Both players already made a name for themselves during their prime years in the tertiary hoops level, with Sajonia becoming a part of the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 national team during the 2023 Asian Games in China.

In their opening game, he led the Philippines to a 13-8 victory over Jordan. Sajonia shone on the international stage, finishing with six points and eight rebounds to top-score for the squad.

Diaz, a household name in the Iloilo commercial leagues and the JB Amateur Basketball League (JB ABL), led CEU to the 2023 Universities and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL) championship game over Olivarez College.

He was impressive during his final year with the Scorpions and averaged 9.6 points, 4.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per contest.

The floor general was a former player of renowned Iloilo Doctors” College coach Jophil Cercado when he was still the mentor of Ateneo de Iloilo.

Congratulations, Ilonggo ballers!