With the dust settled after the 2018 PBA Rookie Draft, multiple trades were discussed between different teams that will shake up their rosters ahead of the upcoming season that tips off on January 13.
After failing to defend their Commissioner's Cup title and then being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Governors' Cup, the San Miguel Beermen have retooled in preparation for their upcoming five-peat bid in the Philippine Cup. And they did it without parting with their main rotation players.
The biggest move that the Beermen pulled off was trading for Terrence Romeo from the TNT KaTropa, a deal which became official on Wednesday. In exchange, SMB gave up David Semerad, who will join his twin brother Anthony, Brian Heruela, and their first round pick in 2021.
Romeo, in nine games played with the KaTropa this conference, averaged 21.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. However, team sources said that he failed to show up at practices for a prolonged period without asking for permission, which led to TNT's decision to part with the star.
Romeo will join a veteran guard unit composed of Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross. He will also get the opportunity to play alongside June Mar Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger, who were his teammates under the Gilas Pilipinas program.
The Beermen continued to make moves and got back Ronald Tubid from the Columbian Dyip for seldom-used Keith Agovida. The powerhouse squad also boosted their bench by acquiring Paul Zamar in exchange for SMB's second round picks in 2021 and 2022. This trade reunited the young guard with his father Boycie Zamar who is an assistant coach for San Miguel.
All these trades were approved by the league through the PBA's Trade Committee, composed of PBA legal counsel Melvin Mendoza, technical team members Junior Bengua and Rosc Teotico, and technical director Eric Castro.
Aside from these deals, there are a few more pending approval, one of which is the reported trade between Blackwater and NLEX which would send JP Erram to the Road Warriors in exchange for incoming rookies Paul Desiderio and Abu Tratter.