Rey Suerte and Allyn Bulanadi on Monday, Feb. 7 became the second and third former members of the Gilas Pilipinas pool members to sign contracts with PBA teams that selected them in the special round of the 2019 PBA Draft.
Suerte inked a two-year deal with Blackwater while Bulanadi came to terms with Alaska, a week after they were released from the Gilas pool by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Both players followed the lead of Mike Nieto, who a few days ago joined Rain or Shine on a two-year contract.
Blackwater took Suerte as the second pick while Alaska chose Bulanadi at No. 4 in the special Gilas draft held on the condition that they’ll be loaned to the Gilas program in preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
But Suerte saw limited action for Gilas in FIBA competitions while an injury prevented Bulanadi from playing even a single game.
Suerte was accompanied by agent Marvin Espiritu when he met with Blackwater team manager Jonson Martines to finalize the deal.
Bulanadi, on the other hand, was officially welcomed to the Alaska roster after discussions with veteran agent Danny Espiritu, team governor Dickie Bachmann and CK Canapi-Daniolco, the company’s sports development and public relations manager.
The latest signings leave Isaac Go and Matt Nieto as the only players who have to secure contracts.
Go was taken No. 1 by Terrafirma while Nieto got picked third by NLEX from the Gilas draft.