The wheeling and dealing in the Philippine Basketball Association continued as several trades were completed.
A swap of big men was finalized after the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok sent Aldrech Ramos to Columbian Dyip in exchange for Jackson Corpuz.
In another completed transaction, it was Alaska and Phoenix’s turn to swap players.
The Fuel Masters acquired forward Jake Pascual from Alaska for their 2020 second round pick.
Pascual’s acquisition is expected to be vital for Phoenix which lacks height and heft. Pascual adds some additional size.
Veteran big men Doug Kramer and Willie Wilson recently retired after the season of the Fuel Masters ended, leaving a big void in the middle.
The deals were already approved by the PBA Commissioner’s Office.
Corpuz originally played varsity volleyball. The Philippine Christian University alumnus’ only shifted to basketball in his teens.
He was largely unnoticed and was left undrafted during the 2014 PBA Draft. However, he persevered and played in the PBA D-League. He was a solid contributor but not a star and bounced from one team to another. He was finally noticed by Mahindra coach Chris Gavina who tapped him to join the team in 2017.
