PBA 2008-2009 season

[digitalsuperman]

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Rain or Shine trades Devance
By Nelson Beltran
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Alaska Milk acquired yesterday 2007 PBA Rookie Draft top pick Joe Devance from Rain or Shine (formerly Welcoat) in exchange for Solomon Mercado and Eddie Laure plus two future draft picks.

The Uytengsu franchise dealt Mercado to the Asian Coatings Corp. ballclub less than 24 hours after tapping the Fil-Puerto Rican player from the 2008 draft exercise held at the Market! Market! in Taguig.

Alaska coach Tim Cone said it’s a gamble on their part to fill a vacuum in their lineup at big forward position.

“Mercado will be a great player without a doubt but Devance is to fill an immediate need for us,” said Cone of the trade deal consummated the morning after the 2008 draft where they picked Mercado at No. 5 behind Gabe Norwood, Jared Dillinger, Jason Castro and Rob Reyes.

“We’ll miss Eddie but he’ll be able to play a bigger role at Rain or Shine,” said Cone on Laure, now reunited with his former PBL team.

The Aces hope to gain added offensive clout on the entry of Devance, a 6-foot-7 Fil-Am who played college ball for the University of Texas at El Paso.

The Honolulu, Hawaii native, son of an ex-US serviceman and a Filipina from Escalante, Negros, led the Dragons in scoring with 16.1 points a game in the Philippine Cup. He also normed seven rebounds, one assist, 0.7 steal and 0.8 block in the same tournament.

Alaska had a mediocre showing in the 2007-08 season despite its acquisition of rookies Ken Bono and JR Quinahan and later the arrival of Larry Fonacier and LA Tenorio.

The Rain or Shine management, meanwhile, said they agreed on the trade since they wanted a different look for their team in the coming season.

The Dragons picked Norwood and TY Tang from the draft. The team earlier took Gherome Ejercito from the free agent pool and reactivated Denver Lopez from the list of injured players.

Tenth and last in their first four PBA conferences, the Dragons hope to finally make an impact with their new acquisitions.

[SQUiDnine]

wala na jud koi tan-aw² PBA ai! unsa diay dinuwaan neh Jason Castro diay? ug dili na lagi ma open ang www.pba.com.ph? ilisan na jud guro neh nila! maayo unta oi! hehehe!

[ManWhore]

^^PG/SG ang duwa anang castro bro kadtong sa PBL pa na. shifty sad kaayo na ug lihok

[SQUiDnine]

mura PennyHardaway? hehehe! naa say itsa?

[ManWhore]

yep! naa sad nay itsa

[skadiboy]

castro just recently crowned MVP sa BRUNEI CUP.. ehehe congrats to castro naa pay winning shot ^^

[skadiboy]

Painters ink Norwood,
Solomon to 3-year deals

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BY NOLI CORTEZ

RAIN or Shine took the first concrete step in its efforts to be more competitive in its third PBA season by sealing deals yesterday with Gabe Norwood and Solomon Mercado.

Norwood, the top pick in last Sunday's draft, and Mercado, the No. 5 selection acquired in a trade with Alaska last Monday, were inked to three-year deals worth the league maximum of P150,000 a month. Their salaries could escalate by as much as 50 percent for each of the following years.

"With these contracts out of the way, Norwood and Mercado can now concentrate on playing and helping us become more of a force to reckon with," said Terry Que, co-owner of the Elasto Painters with Raymund Yu.

The team's No. 12 pick, point guard Tyrone Tang, was also signed to a three-year pact, but the team owners said the amount is far lower than the salaries of Norwood and Mercado. They refused to divulge further details.

Que and Yu had earlier said they want the team to adopt a run-and-gun type of play, adding Norwood and Mercado can be like Ginebra's backcourt duo of Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.

Aside from the three rookies, Rain or Shine also has Denver Lopez, Ryan Arana, Don Dulay, Jojo Tangkay and Joey Mente manning the backcourt.

Mercado and veteran Eddie Laure were acquired for Rain or Shine's Joe Devance and a second round pick. To help offset the loss of the 6-foot-7 De Vance, the Elasto Painters have also taken in free agent Mark Andaya.

Talk N Text, meanwhile, has started negotiations with its four draft picks, led by No. 2 selection Jared Dillinger and No. 3 Jason Castro.

Phone Pals management has already made a tender offer to Dillinger last Monday and the 6-foot-5 guard is reportedly already happy with the initial bid.

Castro's agent, Danny Espiritu, is set to sit down with TNT officials today, as well as agents representing the team's No. 4 pick, 6-foot-6 center Rob Reyes.

The Phone Pals are also set to make a tender offer to Pong Escobal, their No. 12 selection, who still plays for San Beda in the NCAA.

"Everyone will be signed," stressed TNT assistant team manager Virgil Villavicencio.

[skadiboy]

Painters ink Norwood,
Solomon to 3-year deals

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BY NOLI CORTEZ

RAIN or Shine took the first concrete step in its efforts to be more competitive in its third PBA season by sealing deals yesterday with Gabe Norwood and Solomon Mercado.

Norwood, the top pick in last Sunday's draft, and Mercado, the No. 5 selection acquired in a trade with Alaska last Monday, were inked to three-year deals worth the league maximum of P150,000 a month. Their salaries could escalate by as much as 50 percent for each of the following years.

"With these contracts out of the way, Norwood and Mercado can now concentrate on playing and helping us become more of a force to reckon with," said Terry Que, co-owner of the Elasto Painters with Raymund Yu.

The team's No. 12 pick, point guard Tyrone Tang, was also signed to a three-year pact, but the team owners said the amount is far lower than the salaries of Norwood and Mercado. They refused to divulge further details.

Que and Yu had earlier said they want the team to adopt a run-and-gun type of play, adding Norwood and Mercado can be like Ginebra's backcourt duo of Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.

Aside from the three rookies, Rain or Shine also has Denver Lopez, Ryan Arana, Don Dulay, Jojo Tangkay and Joey Mente manning the backcourt.

Mercado and veteran Eddie Laure were acquired for Rain or Shine's Joe Devance and a second round pick. To help offset the loss of the 6-foot-7 De Vance, the Elasto Painters have also taken in free agent Mark Andaya.

Talk N Text, meanwhile, has started negotiations with its four draft picks, led by No. 2 selection Jared Dillinger and No. 3 Jason Castro.

Phone Pals management has already made a tender offer to Dillinger last Monday and the 6-foot-5 guard is reportedly already happy with the initial bid.

Castro's agent, Danny Espiritu, is set to sit down with TNT officials today, as well as agents representing the team's No. 4 pick, 6-foot-6 center Rob Reyes.

The Phone Pals are also set to make a tender offer to Pong Escobal, their No. 12 selection, who still plays for San Beda in the NCAA.

"Everyone will be signed," stressed TNT assistant team manager Virgil Villavicencio.

[KampAbubakar]

norwood
dakug ulo...
pero let see the transistion..

[vanguard]

This is a great season not only for the PBA but for the RP Team as well. Gabe Norwood will be getting serious pro basketball exposure. He and Kelly Williams will be a force in the years to come.