MANILA – Negrense cagers Justin Chua, Paul Varilla and Raul Soyud are set to play for new teams ahead of the start of 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup this Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Bacolod City native Chua and Manapla, Negros Occidental native Varilla were shipped by the Road Warriors to the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters for Sean Anthony, Elvin Jake Pascual and NLEX’s 2022 second round pick.
The Fuel Masters then quickly shipped Chua and Varilla to the Tropang Giga for La Carlota City, Negros Occidental native Soyud, Rodolfo Alejandro Jr. and TNT’s 2026 second round pick.
The trade deal was submitted to the PBA Commissioner’s Office on Tuesday afternoon and was approved by the league’s trade committee without revisions on Wednesday morning.
This will be the 33-year-old Chua’s second tour of duty with the Tropang Giga franchise after a forgetful stint in 2017 that led him to be traded to the Fuel Masters the same year.
Chua, a former standout of Trinity Christian School, had his best years as a PBA player with the Fuel Masters, where he became a candidate for Most Improved Player, before being traded to NLEX in 2021.
Chua and Varilla will be the second and third Western Visayas-based players in the current Tropang Giga roster aside from Bacolodnon point guard Kirell Brandon “Kib” Montalbo.
Just like Chua, Anthony is also set for homecoming at the Road Warriors as he played for the franchise from 2015 to 2017, while Pascual is to reunite with former college coach Frankie Lim at NLEX.
The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, got an upgrade in their frontcourt with the acquisition of Soyud and also added depth to their guard rotation with experienced Alejandro, who will reunite with his former coach Jamike Jarin.
Soyud arrived at the Tropang Giga prior to the just-concluded Commissioner’s Cup following a stellar campaign with the Road Warriors. The Negrense just appeared in three games, however, with TNT and never blossomed./PN
