By REYNALD MAGALLON
Magnolia has acquired the rights to Arvin Tolentino after sending the rights to William Navarro to Titan Ultra in a trade approved on Tuesday, June 16.
Aside from the swap of rights for the players who are both currently playing overseas, the Hotshots also re-acquired its own second round pick in the 51st Season. The Giant Risers got the pick as part of the trade package that allowed Titan Ultra, then NorthPort, to take Calvin Abueva.
In exchange, the Giant Risers got their hands on the second round pick previously owned by the Hotshot in the 52nd Season rookie draft.
Although at the center of the trade, there’s no high expectations for the two to immediately suit up to the new teams that owned their rights.
Tolentino is still under contract with Seoul SK Knights in the Korean Basketball League. The 6-foot-5 wingman is averaging 11.8 percent points on a 38.5 percent clip from deep in just 21 minutes of play and is being seen as one of the key pieces of the team.
Tolentino, though, can suit up with Magnolia any time he gets a release from his Korean team
Navarro also left Magnolia to play in the KBL, signing with Busan KCC Egis. Unlike Tolentino, however, the 6-foot-6 forward was released by the team at the end of the season following a subpar numbers of 5.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21 games.
Navarro, who also played with NorthPort, before getting traded to Magnolia and strutting his wares overseas, cannot easily come back to the PBA as he is covered by the three-year ban imposed by the league on players who signed with overseas teams while having an existing offer with their PBA mother team.
