MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters sets its sights on rebuilding after trading veteran guard Maverick Ahanmisi to the Alaska Aces for Chris Exciminiano and a 2019 first round draft pick.
Painters head coach Carlos Garcia admitted it was not an easy decision for them to let go of Ahanmisi but opted to trade the Filipino-Nigerian guard as the squad prepares for the future.
“This is business and we have to work with the trade because we’re trying to build up the future of the team,” Garcia said in an interview with Dugout.Ph. “As of now, our mindset is to get players from the draft.”
With the trade, the Painters now has three first round draft picks in the upcoming rookie draft, including their own draft pick and the first round selection from Meralco Bolts that was acquired in a trade for Raymond Almazan.
Among the prospects in the upcoming draft are Joshua Munzon, Franky Johnson, Troy Rike, Leonard Santillan, Alvin Pasaol, Arvin Tolentino, Sean Manganti, and Aaron Black.
The Painters was also a winner in its acquisition of Exciminiano, who is a known scrappy defender and with a developed outside shooting. He, however, fell out of the Aces’ rotation earlier in the conference.
Ahanmisi, who won one championship with the Painters in 2016, could also play a key role for Aces head coach Alex Compton with reports that the team is considering trading Chris Banchero.
Meanwhile, NLEX Road Warriors is set to reacquire bruiser Michael Miranda in a trade with NorthPort Batang Pier in exchange for Juan Miguel Tiongson.
The trade is still pending the approval of the PBA Commissioner’s Office./PN
