So wait… these teams can do this?
After all the hoopla which led to perhaps the worst draft of the league’s existence, things can even turn worse?
Holy crap!
San Miguel just traded former Gilas Pilipinas pool member Arnold Van Opstal to GlobalPort for Von Pessumal. The Batang Pier inquired for AVO’s services and since the Beermen had already a dominant big man in June Mar Fajardo, they accepted the loyalty swap.
An Atenista just got traded for a Lasallista.
So… poor Von Pessumal?
But here’s the question: does this mean the San Miguel Corporation or a Pangilinan Group for that matter can acquire Mac Belo for let’s say… Fonso Gotladera or Matthew Wright for Pessumal since he’s with the Beermen now?
As if it was magic, there’s this provision that popped up in which a team can swap Gilas cadets with the exception of the top pick. The announcement might be nearly a year ago… but this still came out as a shock!
This flip-flopping sucks for the PBA because right now you can’t depend on the PBA officials. Again this is why I believe the 2016 PBA Draft is the worst draft in the history of the league. What were the rules on how the teams chose their cadets in the special draft? If TNT was slated to select last in the draft (TNT was the last team to pick), then why did they get RR Pogoy? Who in the blue hell would believe that Pogoy is worse than Fonso Gotladera especially with how their seasons are turning out?
And so are we led to believe that not only Blackwater flexed their muscles against the rest of the league to claim first dibs on Mac Belo, the Elite are also protected from a cadet-to-cadet trade?
Is it hard for the league to scan the provisions so that their web supervisor could upload this to the public???
I always thought the cadets deserve the low end teams to develop their skills. This is like when Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, Yves Dignadice, and the rest of Northern Consolidated Cement powered one squad to become the San Miguel Beermen. I am not saying the Gilas cadets should be in one team but they should play in a team that would give them adequate playing time. Have you ever seen the Mahindra roster??? What good is a player if he’s going to rot with the title hunters?!?
The league could have at least revised it publicly so people wouldn’t question the said rules.
If the details of the special draft are shady as hell, then I guess we’re suckers to believe the PBA would properly set things straight. I knew when Chot Reyes regained the position of Gilas Pilipinas coach, the first thing he would do is to get the best available players of the PBA. It’s a given and it’s not like past coaches didn’t follow the same formula. And this is why AGAIN I question the special draft. Even during the first Gilas incarnation, the Nationals realized they would get the best scenario if they acquired the PBA talents. Dylan Ababou, Jason Ballesteros, and in some ways Mac Baracael would lose their spots to Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, Asi Taulava, and Ranidel de Ocampo. It’s logical to select experience – and like a broken record, I seriously question the logic behind the special draft.
I know Arnold Van Opstal deserves a position away from San Miguel but so does Pessumal. Van Opstal has been a big name since college but here’s Pessumal out of nowhere to overachieve. If the Ateneo shooter is still with Gilas Pilipinas, then Pessumal’s development will suffer since he’s going to fight for minutes with Arwind Santos, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Ronald Tubid, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Keith Agovida, David Semerad, and even import Wendell McKines. On the other hand, the worst thing to happen with AVO in the transfer is that he’s going to miss out on SMB’s potential grand slam. With an aging frontline plus the loss of JR Quinahan would give Van Opstal the playing time to blossom in GlobalPort.
In the future scheme of things, this move favors GlobalPort… and in some ways I’m intrigued as to why the Beermen decided to let go of an asset who could explode once he obtains the experience as well as the opportunity.
PROJECT SYDRIFIED WP 