Philippine Basketball Association teams will have to wait until the end of the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup before they make any player movement.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial yesterday confirmed to Daily Tribune that the trading deadline had already lapsed, barring teams from shuffling their rosters except when there is a need to replace their imports.
“The deadline had already lapsed,” Marcial said in a text message.
“It lapsed last 18 November so teams will have to wait until the end of the conference before making any movement.”
“But imports can be replaced anytime, even before Game 7 of the championship series.”
Marcial said the rule has been in effect for more than two decades.
“It started during the time of (late) Commissioner Jun Bernardino,” he said.
The PBA chief explained that they have to impose a moratorium on trades to encourage teams to stick to their respective rosters until the end of the conference.
Vising Bay Area is already assured of the top seed and the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals but still has the luxury of either sticking with its explosive import in Myles Powell or bringing back Andrew Nicholson.
The Dragons split up the playing assignments of the two former National Basketball Association campaigners with Powell playing the first four games and Nicholson seeing action in the next four.
Then, they brought back Powell as they gear up for their quarterfinal duel against the No. 8 seed when the league wraps up its elimination round matches on 2 December.
With Bay Area safely on top, three teams — Magnolia, Converge and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel — are disputing the No. 2 spot.
Interestingly, TNT Tropang Giga, a consistent playoff performer which has figured at least in the quarterfinal round for seven straight conferences, is already eliminated.
The Tropang Giga had been in the finals four times in seven conferences, winning the Philippine Cup last season.
San Miguel Beer, which won the Philippine Cup a few months ago, is not out of the woods yet, so as another consistent playoff competitor, Meralco.
Both teams will need to win their remaining fames to assure themselves of playoff spots.
