By JONAS TERRADO
PBA Governors’ Cup champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel acquired No. 2 overall pick Jeremiah Gray from Terrafirma in one of two trades the league approved two days after its annual Rookie Draft.
The Gin Kings got Gray, the former Alab Pilipinas and TNT 3×3 player, from the Dyip in exchange for No. 8 selection Javi Gomez de Liano and incoming sophomore Brian Enriquez.
New team Converge also pulled off a deal by getting NLEX’s No. 7 selection Tyrus Hill and David Murrell for its first round pick in next season’s draft.
Gray was chosen second by Terrafirma during the draft, but won’t be seeing action in time for the season opener on June 5 due to an ACL injury sustained while playing for TNT in the PBA 3×3.
Despite that, Ginebra seems keen on waiting for Gray to fully heal, given his athleticism and ability to shoot from the outside.
Terrafirma got Gomez de Liano, the former University of the Philippines standout who spent one year with the Ibaraki Robots of Japan’s B.League.
Gomez de Liano, who will also be part of the Gilas Pilipinas pool, was ecstatic when his name was called by Ginebra, later tweeting that it was his “Dream Team.”
Turns out, he’ll suit up for Terrafirma along with Enriquez, the second round in the 2021 draft but saw limited action during the recent season.
Meanwhile, Converge got another rookie in Hill to join fellow draftees Jeo Ambohot and Justin Arana who were taken third and fourth.
