IT’S obvious that Burger King would pick Japeth Aguilar in the Rookie Draft if the tall forward signs up.

Now, who’ll be No. 2?

Purefoods Tender Juicy’s management and coaching staff are now torn between Filipino-American point guard Chris Ross and versatile forward Rico Maierhofer for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft on August 2.

“It’s really hard to name somebody on top of my head this time, but definitely, Maierhofer, Ross and possibly Jervy Cruz will be there,” said Purefoods head coach Ryan Gregorio.

“But it still depends on what we need. We have seven or eight players with expiring contracts and we will see who are those who we are going to sign up,” he added.

Ross is a six-foot-one point guard who led Pharex to its first finals stint in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), where he also won the Most Valuable Player award.

Maierhofer, meanwhile, is a strong wing defender at six-foot-four, and the former De La Salle standout could be a good fit to the team.

But given the opportunity, Purefoods wants to have both players in its team to infuse young blood to the roster.

According to Purefoods team governor Rene Pardo, there are negotiations going on, including a possible trade with Burger King for the No. 3 pick in the first round.

“We have the No. 2 pick so getting the No.3 pick of Burger King is not so attractive to me,” said Pardo. “But looking at the team’s needs, anything is still possible. We just have to sit down with the management and coaching staff regarding the composition of the team.” 

The Giants have eight players with expiring contracts and some of them could be used as trade baits to get the needed pieces and make the team formidable again in the All-Filipino tournament next season.