Slowly but surely, this team is starting to look like a legit contender or at the very least, competent enough barring any lopsided trades (which, I expect to see in the future). Willie Miller is marked as the "franchise" player but let's not forget that Danny Seigle enjoyed his best season in a long while following his trade from San Miguel. Throw in burly bruiser Dorian Pena and even some crisp low post presence from Don Allado and they could very well be the darkhorse in the coming season. Of course, everything depends on the BB management if they will hold on to these guys longer than a conference or two, and if Allado every fully recovers from his recent bout with injuries.
B-Meg - Mark Barroca (Shopinas.com)
The rich keep getting richer don't they? Granted, B-Meg was the "ugly duckling" of the SMC family last season but let's not forget that they were practically playing with an injury plagued frontline and relied mostly on gunners James Yap (who had a forgettable season) and PJ Simon (who continues to toil as a "Super Sub" when he's good enough to start for half of the league's other teams). Barroca will be put on the spotlight right away (not only because of his tisay girlfriend) owing to Jonas Villanueva's injuries and Roger Yap's age. Is Barroca the guy for B-Meg? Definitely. His slashing skills will open up a world of hurt on opposing teams since they won't be able to lock down on Yap, Simon and sweet-shooting big man Joe DeVance anymore.
Shopinas.Com - Brian Ilad (B-Meg), Elmer Espiritu (Barako Bull), Ren Ren Ritualo (released by Meralco)
Was Don Allado (who will end up with sister team Barako Bull) really the best player that Shopinas.Com could get in return for Mark Barroca? Probably not. The fact that Allado went to another team also dispels any notion of him being reunited with former DLSU and now Clickers head coach Franz Pumaren. Luckily for Shopinas.Com, they will get two more guys from the trade in Brian Ilad (a college-career role player who's best known for starting fights) and ultra athletic Elmer Espiritu (who looks to be struggling in finding a niche in the pros akin to UE teammate Kelvin Gregorio). A silver lining for the Clickers is that they are going to get the services of Ren-Ren Ritualo who enjoyed his best years being coached by a Pumaren. Hopefully for RR14, his body holds up against bigger SGs in the PBA and that Coach Franz can give him open looks to do what he does best- drain threes from all over.
Powerade - Ogie Menor (Meralco)
It's just sad to see how Menor went from San Beda high school and college hotshot to just another name on the roster. What's even sadder is that, collegiate role players are enjoying more success in the PBA (Jeff Chan, RJ Rizada, etc.) than someone who was hyped to be the next Mark Caguioa. Now? Their only similiarities is that they sport the same hairstyle. At Powerade, Menor will have to earn his spot to become Gary David's chief reliever. If not, then he'll probably be relegated to the bench and later on find himself with a Liga or ABL team.
Meralco - Chico Lanete (Powerade), Mark Yee (Powerade), Mark Macapagal (Powerade)
While most people would say that Meralco lost its promising young guys to other teams, I'd like to argue that they were able to add solid role players who are ready to win now. Lanete is still an explosive (sometimes bull-headed) point guard who can light up the scoreboard when needed (think a malnourished yet more athletic version of Roger Yap) while Macapagal is a passable (even better when you look at it) replacement for Ren Ren Ritualo (not as good a shooter, but better defender).
I was quite impressed with the way Weinstein played the first couple of times I saw him off the bench for Meralco. Sadly, Bolts' head coach Ryan Gregorio opted for a more uptempo pace and didn't know where Weinstein would fit since the guy wasn't much of an offensive force and didn't have a solid jumper (which is vital considering the PG has to keep BOTH ball hogs Sol Mercado and Mark Cardona happy while acting as a kick-out option for suicide drives). At TNT, Weinstein can fill in for Ryan Reyes at the 2 spot (TNT loves playing a 3-guard rotation anyway, so the more guards they have, the better I guess) while Bam Gamalinda learns the ropes from Larry Fonacier and Jarred Dillinger.
Released to free agency - Marlou Aquino (Meralco)
As a Marlou Aquino circa 1996-1999 fan (uhm, you do realize that this site was named after "The Skyscraper's" signature move right?), I wish that Aquino either retires or is signed by Ginebra for one last run/ that nostalgic feel. Alaska did it with guys like Bong Hawkins, Jojo Lastimosa and Jeffrey Cariaso.
