MANILA – Calvin Oftana will now be part of TNT Tropang Giga after the league's trade committee approved a three-team trade with NLEX Road Warriors and Blackwater Bossing on Monday.
The Road Warriors sent Oftana and Raul Soyud to the Tropang Giga, who then gave up Troy Rosario and Gab Banal to the Bossing, who in turn shipped Brandon Rosser to the Road Warriors.
Blackwater also gave up its second round picks for the Season 48 and Season 51 drafts to NLEX.
Rosario and Banal's arrival will give the Bossing a huge boost as they look to begin the PBA Commissioner's Cup on a winning note right in the very first game of the conference against the Bay Area Dragons on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Oftana, on the other hand, finds himself under the tutelage of coach Chot Reyes again at the Tropang Giga camp nearly a month after he was called up to Gilas Pilipinas for the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
Rosser, the first overall pick of this year's draft, finds himself with a rebuilding Road Warriors lineup in just his second conference in the PBA 5-on-5 play.
Desiderio retires
The initial trade package had Blackwater only trading Rosser to NLEX, but the Ever Bilena franchise quickly adjusted and added Paul Desiderio to the mix in hopes of sweetening the pot.
However, a late switch saw Desiderio, currently recovering from a season-ending knee injury, taken out of the trade package in lieu of the two future second rounders.
Despite that, Desiderio will not be returning to the PBA.
The 25-year-old guard called it a career after four full seasons, all with the Bossing.
His inclusion in the trade would have given Desiderio, who led University of the Philippines to the UAAP men's basketball finals in 2018, a chance to play for the Road Warriors, who drafted him during the same year ahead of the PBA 44th Season.
Desiderio was embroiled in a controversy late into the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations as his former fiance, former UAAP courtside reporter Agatha Uvero, accused him of physical and emotional abuse. (PNA)
