PBA Trades, Releases, Sign-ups, Rumours

Interesting development if this 3-way trade pushes through. I'm just
wondering - if Barroca leaves San Mig Coffee, who'll be left to man the
point guard slot aside from Jonas Villanueva? I assume J-Vill will
finally get his breakout season (assuming he didn't do so three or four
years ago) but the interesting question is who'll spell him? I know
Barroca is a square peg on a round hole for Tim Cone - he simply doesn't
fit the offense of Cone so I'm not surprised he's giving him up. I was
surprised though with Urbiztondo's transfer sensing that he was Cone's
favorite PG. Had Ross been shipped to San Mig Coffee and not with
Global, that would have been more logical since Ross fits Cone's system
as well.

Barroca's entry at Meralco also proves that Ryan Gregorio is deadset on
his dribble-drive offense to be executed. Barroca fits the bill since
he's a less deliberate compared to Ross, bordering to being "reckless"
at times. It's a worthy risk though, since Gregorio can now be able to
maximize Barroca's individual strength that was mitigated somehow with
the strict offensive patterns of Cone. Vanlandingham though fits
perfectly in Cone's system and gives him another offensive outside
threat supposedly to be provided by Val Acuna. The glaring absence
though is a point guard which makes me think that Cone will get someone
from the free agent ranks.

Global Port getting Ross would mean they will now have a starting PG in
their midst. It will also allow them to move Willie Miller to his more
potent #2 position (or interchangeably use him at #1 if needed) where he
can score more. But I think the key here is to find someone who can
ensure that both Gary David and Miller would be happy. Ross may be the
right man for this since he had to contend with Sol Mercado and Mark
Cardona at Meralco last season.

Jay P. Mercado