MANILA, Philippines – Even KIA coach Chris Gavina has no clue as to what will happen to the precious No. 1 pick in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft that they currently own.

There have been plenty of reports that KIA is set to ship the pick to powerhouse San Miguel in exchange for some of the Beermen's little-used veterans and a future pick, along with cash. The purported trade has earned the ire of some other teams, and so far, the PBA Commissioner's Office has yet to approve it.

It is amidst this uncertainty that Gavina headed to the Gatorade Hoops Center on Monday to catch a glimpse of the rookie hopefuls. He had his eye out for one particular player, but that man happened to be the lone draft prospect absent.

"I'm looking for the big 6-8 guy," said Gavina with a laugh, referring to Fil-German Christian Standhardinger, the consensus top draft pick. "I was hoping I was going to get to meet him today."

Selecting Standhardinger, who did not attend the Draft Combine as he is in Hong Kong with his ASEAN Basketball League team, would go a long way towards boosting a KIA team that won just six games in three conferences last season.

Unfortunately for Gavina and KIA, all signs point towards the pick being shipped to San Miguel, a team that won two out of the three conferences in the PBA this year.

"I can't confirm it," Gavina said of the much-discussed trade. "I'm learning just as much as everyone else, as I read things and hear about things as well."

"I'm asking my management also – 'Is this true?' You just kind of wait it out and see what happens," he adds.

He is sure that "nothing is set in stone," especially with the PBA Board still set to meet.

"Whether we keep it is a toss-up right now," says Gavina.

The coach makes clear that if he can get his way, then he would "love to keep" the pick and probably take Standhardinger, who can be the cornerstone of their woeful franchise.

"But you know," he quickly adds, "There's some higher powers that be that might not agree."

The situation is admittedly frustrating, but Gavina says he has no choice but to live with it. If they cannot build their team through the draft, then he will try other ways to improve his squad. Already, the KIA players are back in practice for skills training, according to Gavina.

If the trade pushes through, it marks the second time in three years that the KIA franchise gave up a high draft pick. In 2015, they selected former National University standout Troy Rosario with the second pick, only to send him to TNT via a three-team trade ahead of the season. In exchange, they got Aldrech Ramos and KG Canaleta – both of whom would be traded by the team just a year later.

Gavina is hopeful that if they do wind up trading the pick, then they can at least get some good veterans in the deal.

"I'm really looking to add some veteran leadership on this team with championship experience," he said. "If we can get that, I think we'll be able to form a formidable team next year."

"I think I want to say to the KIA fans to just be patient," Gavina also said. "We’re trying to do what’s best for the team and we understand the frustration level of possibly giving up this number one pick, but like I said, if we’re able to get some championship experience for it, then who knows?"

"Look at what we did when we got KG and Aldrech. We’re looking for that kind of repeat situation."

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)