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For Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior reporter
THREE teams from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) made business moves ahead of the league’s rookie draft this weekend.
In an announcement Thursday, the league said NLEX Road Warriors, Blackwater Bossing and TNT Tropang GIGA were featured in a three-way trade between rookie picks and veteran young players.
The player trades, which were approved by the PBA trade committee, have NLEX trading his number four pick in the first round of the rookie draft on March 14 to Blackwater in exchange for guard Roi Sumang, forward Don Trollano. , the Maurice Shaw center and the Bosses. 2022 draft second-round pick.
Blackwater then sent the No. 4 pick it got from the Road Warriors to TNT by guard Simon Enciso, power forward David Semerad and Tropang GIGA’s 2023 first-round pick and the 2024 second-round pick.
NLEX, who still has the No. 3 pick for Sunday’s draft, got a collection of helpful players from the deal that he hopes to leverage to bring stability to the team in the upcoming PBA season.
Mr. Sumang was one of the bright lights for an otherwise difficult campaign for Blackwater in the PBA “bubble” last year, averaging 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.1 thefts. He further bolsters NLEX’s already loaded escort rotation that includes Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Jericho Cruz and Mike Ayonayon.
Meanwhile, Trollano meets with Coach Yeng Guiao, for whom he played in Rain or Shine. He was consistent for the Bossing last season, averaging 14.2 points and 8.5 rebounds. The same stability is something the Road Warriors want to get from him now that he’s in their fold.
Big Shaw didn’t play much in his rookie season with Blackwater last year due to injury, but NLEX will be looking to use his height and weight to strengthen his front court.
Blackwater, meanwhile, hosted veteran players who assisted TNT in its strong run in the tournament bubble in 2020.
Mr. Enciso averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 assists for Tropang GIGA, which reached the final of the Philippine Cup, while Mr. Semerad had a consistent physical and defensive presence.
Meanwhile, TNT is back in the first round of the draft after finding itself without a pick due to previous deals it had.
At number four, Tropang GIGA is uniquely positioned to land a quality prospect in the draft.
Reports say the team is closely watching foreign guard Mikey Williams and St Bede University’s prominent Calvin Oftana for selection.
The PBA rookie draft will take place virtually Sunday at 4 pm It will be broadcast live on TV5 and One Sports with live streaming on ESPN5.com.
The preliminary order has Terrafirma selecting first, followed by Northport, NLEX, TNT, Rain or Shine and Alaska.
The remainder of the first round has Phoenix Super LPG, Terrafirma, Meralco, Magnolia, NorthPort and Barangay Geneva selecting.
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