MANILA – In a blockbuster trade of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) offseason, five teams swapped six players Friday afternoon, including Philippine Jones Cup hero LA Tenorio who will now be donning the jersey of Ginebra San Miguel when the Philippine Cup opens on Sept. 30 this year. The complicated deal began with the Barako Bull Energy trading Willie Miller to Ginebra in exchange for center Enrico Villanueva. Miller, who once played for Ginebra, was then sent to Global Port Batang Pier, the league's newest team, together with Ginebra's 2014 first-round draft pick, in exchange for JV Casio, the top pick in last year's rookie draft. Ginebra then sent Casio and their 2015 second-round pick to the Alaska Aces in exchange for Tenorio, a most coveted point guard who was named Most Valuable Player of the 34th William Jones Cup basketball tournament in Taipei, Taiwan after he powered the Smart-Gilas-Pilipinas 2.0 to the championship, beating the US team, 76-75. Another trade saw Petron Blaze dispatching veteran guard Dondon Hontiveros to Alaska in exchange for Wesley Gonzales and Hans Thielle. Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen warmly welcomed Tenorio to their camp, saying the addition of the wily and deadly point guard will be a huge boost to their team. “LA is definitely a big piece, a piece which I've been looking for the past few years,” Tanquingcen said. “No question on the capability of LA. He's a player with championship experience and he's also a big-time player,” Tanquingcen added. Ginebra sorely needs a court general as Jayjay Helterbrand is planning to retire while Mike Cortez is not getting any younger. Earlier this month, Ginebra drafted four point guards. Ginebra gave up Villanueva, another member of the Jones Cup championship team. However, his departure is seen to benefit Ginebra since this will allow more playing time for Kerby Raymundo, Billy Mamaril, Rudy Hatfled, Rico Maierhofer, Willie Wilson and rookie Keith Jensen. PBA commissioner Chito Salud said he quickly approved the trade , noting that they are “balanced and even.” “They will result in a more competitive league in terms of lineup strength and potential,” Salud said.
