Stanley Pringle is now officially a Ginebra Gin King after he was sent by NorthPort to the crowd darlings in exchange for Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer, and Jervy Cruz —a blockbuster trade approved yesterday (Tuesday) by the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Office.
How exactly will the 32-year-old Fil-American will fit into a stacked Ginebra backcourt composed of LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson will be the concern of coach Tim Cone.
Pringle, who has only played two games in the conference so far, missing his team’s last two due to a foot injury, was drafted first overall in the 2014 PBA Rookie Draft. He spent all of his five seasons in the PBA with the Batang Pier.
Ferrer and Cruz, on the other hand, will be reunited with their University of Santo Tomas collegiate coach Pido Jarencio, the NorthPort mentor.
On the other hand, Mercado also returns to the GlobalPort franchise where he had two stints before, his last in being in 2014.
Meanwhile, once again in a position to gain a share of the lead, NorthPort eyes on keeping in-step with its fellow league-leaders when it goes for a third straight win in the resumption of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
The second-running Batang Pier (5-1) take on another streaking team in Rain or Shine (2-2), which is also looking for a third straight win, at 4:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City today.
In the nightcap, struggling teams face each other as Meralco (3-4) and hapless NLEX (0-6) go toe-to-toe at 7 p.m. with both of them facing must-win situations.
Showing its consistency thus far in the tournament, the Batang Pier now looks to close in on a berth in the quarterfinals as another win will put one foot in the post-season.
For Jarencio, his team’s success thus far is because of the most basic reasons.
“Everyone is stepping up and delivering for us,” said Jarencio. “Not one, not two players but everyone is helping out.”
The Batang Pier last took out Magnolia, 102-99, last week.
On the other hand, the Elasto Painters are riding a two-game winning streak after losing their first two assignments.
Meralco and NLEX are rearing to tear each other apart as both are in dire need of a win.
While the Bolts are still very much in the race to the quarterfinals, the same can’t be said for the still winless Road Warriors.
NLEX needs to sweep its remaining games to have a little shot of making the top eight.
Otherwise, a loss can eliminate it on the spot.