TNT made another minor change to its roster with Carl Bryan Cruz set to join the PBA Philippine Cup champion from Blackwater in a multi-player trade.
Cruz and rookie big man Reymark Acuno will head to the Tropang Giga in exchange for Chris Javier and future first round pick, with the deal still needing the approval of the PBA Commissioner’s Office.
The impending move to the Tropang Giga puts Cruz in a reunion with coach Chot Reyes, who handled the former Far Eastern University big man during his time handling Gilas Pilipinas in FIBA competitions.
He played just seven games in the Philippine Cup, averaging 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. Cruz was coming off a knee injury that forced him to miss last year’s PBA Philippine Cup bubble.
Acuno, a second round pick in this year’s draft, played a total of almost six minutes in three games with Blackwater.
TNT is parting ways with Javier, who played eight games last conference. The former University of the East mainstay was signed as a free agent by the Tropang Giga in 2020.
Javier played for Blackwater from 2017 to 2019.
The trade came days after TNT signed Gab Banal, who opted to become a free agent after just one conference with Alaska.
The Tropang Giga are hoping that the two moves would be enough for them to remain competitive going into the season-ending tournament after Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel made a number of moves since the end of the Philippine Cup.
Blackwater has made four trades after going winless in the past conference.