IN a bid to change its recent mediocre fortunes in the Philippine Basketball Association, Rain or Shine made waves yesterday.
After a longtime partnership, the Elasto Painters surprisingly traded veteran gunner Jeff Chan to go in a new direction.
Rain or Shine shipped Chan, one of its main players in its two league championships, to Phoenix in exchange for forward Mark Borboran and a second-round pick in the coming draft Monday afternoon.
The transaction was already finalized and sent to the Commissioner’s Office for approval, but it is expected to be official soon.
In fact, Chan already attended the Fuel Masters’ practice yesterday right after the trade.
The multiple-time national team member spent the last eight years of his career with Rain or Shine as one of the team’s stars after starting his career with Red Bull in 2008.
He is now headed to his third PBA team.
Chan is now expected to add more firepower to Phoenix with his outside sniping and scoring.
With this move, Rain or Shine expects two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap to step up and pick up more scoring cudgels for the team.
The Painters didn’t stop there.
With a pedestrian 1-2 card in the ongoing Governors’ Cup, the team also decided to change its import, replacing the ineffective JD Weatherspoon with J’Nathan Bullock.
The 30-year-old Bullock last played in Finland and he already attended Rain or Shine’s practice yesterday as well to start building chemistry with his new teammates.
The Elasto Painters also sent rookie Mike Tolomia to Meralco for fellow Gilas Pilipinas cadet Ed Daquioag.
Both Tolomia and Daquioag are part of the Gilas Pilipinas team that will try to defend the Philippines’ basketball title in the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur this August.
With Chan’s departure, the bulk of the scoring load will now rest on the shoulders of Yap.
Problem is, the 35-year-old shooting guard was never his old self since being traded to the Painters by the Star Hotshots, who in turn, took in Rain or Shine’s Paul Lee. His averages of 7.7 points, 3.3 boards, and 1.3 assists in the ongoing Governors’ Cup aren’t exactly eye-popping.
