TNT Tropang Giga is waiting for word from controversial playmaker Mikey Williams before plotting its next move in the Philippine Basketball Association.
TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa told Daily Tribune that they will not initiate anything just to get the former Rookie of the Year back on board.
Instead, they will just react based on the move that the Filipino-American Williams is going to make.
“We are waiting for him to make the first move,” Lastimosa said.
Williams and the TNT management are not seeing eye-to-eye after having a contract dispute.
In fact, Williams refused to fly back to the country, prompting the Tropang Giga to terminate the remainder of his three-year contract while still keeping his playing rights in the PBA.
It wasn’t the first time for the 6-foot-3 Williams to have a contractual dispute with the Tropang Giga.
Last season, Williams also played hardball before finally signing the contract and leading the Tropang Giga to a successful campaign in which they dethroned Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra in the Governors’ Cup.
Despite his misunderstanding with TNT, Strong Group still expressed interest in hiring him for the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship.
But instead of joining the team that is powered by former National Basketball Association stars Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche and Andre Roberson, Williams was a no-show, drawing the ire of Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu and team owner Jacob Lao.
This time, TNT is running out of patience and won’t initiate a move unless Williams comes up with a significant move geared towards making a PBA return.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine signed young guns Leonard Santillan and Anton Asistio to fresh deals, proving that it is determined to keep its young core for the coming Philippine Cup.
Santillan inked a three-year deal while Asistio signed a two-year pact for the Elasto Painters, who started out slow before winning their next six matches to reach the quarterfinals of the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup.
Santillan is a key piece in Rain or Shine’s youth movement as he averaged 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals while Asistio posted 2.7 points this conference.
