MANILA – Joseph Evans “Jvee” Casio ended his close-to-a-decade stint with the Alaska Aces. He moved to Blackwater Bossing via a two-team, two-player trade.
Casio, along with center Kevin Barkley Ebona, transferred to the Bossing in exchange for Chris Michael Tolomia and a 2023 second-round draft pick to the Aces.
The Aces-Bossing player swap transaction papers were submitted to the PBA Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday afternoon and was approved on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old Casio is expected to provide experience to the Bossing, which is on a rebuilding mode by tapping Ariel Vanguardia as its new head coach just last month.
Casio, a former De La Salle University Green Archers star, has been with the Aces since 2012. It was with Alaska where he won his lone PBA championship so far in 2013.
Ebona, on the other hand, will add size and strength to Bossing’s frontline after a strong showing in his first two years in the professional league with Alaska.
“Jvee gives us stability and also serves as mentor for our younger guards, including Baser (Amer),” Vanguardia said in an interview with PBA Rush. “Eboña, naman, we badly need a big man.”
The Alaska-bound Tolomia, for his part, had a good conference with the Bossing last season with averages of 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
The move is just the latest of Vanguardia this offseason after the Bossing acquired three-point gunner Rashawn McCarthy from Terrafirma Dyip for Simon Enciso.
The Bossing is aiming to snap a league-record of 19 consecutive defeats after dropping all of its matches in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup in Bacolor, Pampanga./PN
