Ginebra acquires Chan, Sargent

Just a day after acquiring Jeff Chan from Phoenix, the Gin Kings have traded seldom-used guard Paolo Taha to GlobalPort in exchange for tireless forward Julian Sargent.
The Office of the Commissioner approved the trade on Tuesday.
Taha, 27, barely made an impact in two years with the Gin Kings, who acquired the gritty guard from Mahindra in November 2016 in a trade for Denice Villamor and Frank Bonifacio.
At Ginebra, Taha got buried in the team’s loaded backcourt. He played an average of 3.3 minutes in the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The former St. Benilde Blazer now returns to the Batang Pier, the same team which drafted him in the third round of the 2014 PBA draft before moving on to a solid stint with then-Mahindra (Columbian) back in 2016.
Sargent, on the other hand, has had an up-and-down rookie career with GlobalPort, averaging 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.6 minutes of action this conference.
He will add size and muscle to a young wing rotation for Ginebra, which already features Kevin Ferrer and Aljon Mariano, together with veteran Joe Devance.
The Gin Kings earlier received Jeff Chan from Phoenix on Monday in exchange of a 2018 first round pick.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone’s willingness to roll the dice with newly acquired sniper Jeff Chan spelled the difference when Ginebra acquired the Negrense sniper in a trade with Phoenix on Monday.
The veteran mentor acknowledged Ginebra gave up an intergral part of its future in the 2018 first-round pick, but insisted the gains outweighs the losses as the team tries to salvage its campaign in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“It’s always tough to give up a part of your future through first-round picks, especially for veteran players,” said Cone. “But Jeff obviously fills a big hole for us. His ability to spread the floor for Greg and Japeth could spell the difference.”
Cone admitted he has been targeting the former Gilas Pilipinas hotshot for the longest time now.
“We’ve been targeting him for months now because we have always seen him as a guy who can lift us to a higher level,” he said.
And Chan would definitely be a big help, especially with Ginebra ranking seventh in three-point shooting at 30-percent this conference.
He is averaging 11.56 points on a 35-percent shooting from threes through nine games with the Fuel Masters this conference.
Cone acknowledged that at 34, Chan may be approaching the twilight of his career. But if the Gin Kings manage to squeeze some quality minutes from him, the same way he has been doing with guys like Mark Caguioa and Jervy Cruz, the trade will be all worth it.
“If we can get two or three good years from Jeff, then the sacrifice of our first-round pick will be worth it,” he said.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here