PBA: League approves Cortez for Taha swap

PBA: League approves Cortez for Taha swap
November 7, 2012 11:37am

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud formally approved a trade that sends Mike Cortez from Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to the Air21 Express, in exchange for rookie center Yousef Taha, Wednesday.

The office of the commissioner today approved the player trade between brgy ginebra san miguel's mike cortez & air 21 express' yousef taha.

— pbaconnect (@pbaconnect) November 7, 2012

The deal reunites Cortez with his collegiate coach Franz Pumaren, with whom he won UAAP titles with as part of the De La Salle Green Archers, back in 2000 and 2001.

Prior to the start of the season, the Express lost sophomore guard Eric Salamat to an ACL injury, forcing them to give big minutes to 12-year pro Wynne Arboleda at the point guard position.

While Arboleda's numbers, 6.71 points, 4.29 rebounds, 3.71 assists, have been solid, Pumaren has long sought an upgrade at the 1 spot. Cortez, who saw his playing time dwindle to just 14.67 minutes per game after the offseason trade that landed Ginebra LA Tenorio, could be just what he's been looking for.

Cortez last season normed 9.44 points, 3.93 rebounds, 3.82 assists and 0.91 steals for Ginebra.

In order to get Cortez though, Air21 had to give up the 11th overall pick in this year's draft, former MIT Cardinal Yousef Taha, who's been productive for them, putting up 4.14 points and 6.71 rebounds in just 19.57 minutes per game this conference.

He'll help fortify a Ginebra front court that has relied heavily on Rico Maierhofer and Billy Mamaril.

Ginebra is currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak, while Air21 is coming off an upset of the Petron Blaze Boosters. - AMD, GMA News

Source: Gmanetwork.com