Who won the Barako Bull trade frenzy - The Player Edition

The Barako Bull Energy Cola team spent an afternoon wheeling and dealing, and when the dust settled, a total of five squads found places for 10 different players. While others have broken down which sides stand to benefit from the moves, and which parties may have given more than they received, this article ranks the 10 traded players, based on who will benefit the most from this recent turn of events. [Related: Barako Bull shake up roster, dealing with four different teams in blockbuster]

1. Alex Mallari - The third overall pick from the 2012 PBA Draft was supposed to make waves as a playmaker for Petron under the tutelage of head coach Olsen Racela and consultant Rajko Toroman. However, Mallari quickly found himself outside the rotation after Toroman’s departure from the squad. Things got so weird for Mallari in Petron that he was actually playing the power forward position in their practices even if his skill set is that of a guard. From playing almost zero minutes to being a back-up point guard slash wing player for the defending Commissioner’s Cup champions, Mallari has the most to gain following all the trades. San Mig basically swapped three rotation players to get Mallari and two players they will use sparingly, which speaks highly of San Mig head coach Tim Cone’s belief in Mallari. If he learns Cone’s system quickly and if he turns out to be a good defender, sky's the limit for Mallari with the Mixers. 2. Allein Maliksi - Even if he’s not entirely happy about being traded by Ginebra, Allein Maliksi should have a chance to prove his true worth with Barako Bull. His current team just traded away their first option on offense (Ronald Tubid), which will open up a lot of shots for any player willing to take them. Maliksi is a talented scorer who is also very athletic. This move be the continuation of his emergence as a reliable scorer a season ago, which was quickly stunted when he was traded to Ginebra mid-way through the Philippine Cup. 3. JC Intal - Reunited with fellow former co-King Eagle Doug Kramer, JC Intal will be getting his opportunity to shine with Barako Bull. In San Mig, he needed to be a defense-first player as James Yap and PJ Simon got most of the shots. With Barako Bull, his scoring will be needed badly. This is an opportunity for the Baby Rocket to have a Niño Canaleta type breakthrough with his new team. Together with Maliksi, they could be Barako’ version of Canaleta and John Wilson, of the Air21 Express. 4. Mac Baracael - The former Smart Gilas member wanted more minutes in Alaska. Head coach Luigi Trillo could not give him that, which forced their participation in the multi-team deal. Ginebra is a team already loaded with wingmen. However, Baracael is a Ginebra player if there ever was one. He plays intense basketball and is never scared of the big moment. He’ll easily take minutes away from Elmer Espiritu, who started a lot of games down the stretch for Ginebra last conference. 5. Jojo Duncil - Petron was a team stacked with stars and Jojo Duncil was one of the few who actually did not demand playing time. Now, he finds himself traded to a retooling Barako Bull team where his role is not quite defined yet. His acquisition may not be as sexy as Intal or Maliksi for Barako Bull but he’ll definitely help plug in the holes that Tubid left, especially when it comes to outside shooting. 6. Aldrech Ramos - This was a trade Alaska made for the long run. They had to unclog their forward rotation by trading away Mac Baracael and they got a player who will not complain if he gets 30 minutes or three minutes. Ramos has a consistent mid-range jump shot and he can also hit the occasional three. He is also a tremendous help defender who will try to swat any shot taken within his range. His situation really did not change a lot for this trade. Even though Alaska might have bigger plans for him compared to San Mig, these plans are still a long way from coming into fruition. At this point, he’ll just be a player who’ll get spot minutes. 7. Lester Alvarez - From being in the mix with three other point guards in Barako Bull, Lester Alvarez is now with a team that only has two pure point guards. He will play behind Mark Barroca and even Alex Mallari, but he is definitely in a better situation. 8. Leo Najorda - Started some games, came off the bench in most games. That was Leo Najorda’s role with Barako Bull. He is a forward with back-to-the-basket moves, which should be of service to San Mig. However, it’s hard to see where the minutes will come from for Najorda. With their import playing the center position or power forward position, Najorda will have to contend for minutes against Marc Pingris and Joe Devance, a battle he’d most likely lose. However, the silver lining is that he is now with a team that will be more successful than his previous squad. That said, Najorda may have to wait until the next Philippine Cup to get good minutes on the floor. 9. Jonas Villanueva - He was San Mig’s starting point guard at the start of the season, but by the end, he was relegated to the bench. Still, Jonas Villanueva was in a good situation. He was sharing point guard duties with Mark Barroca and with Josh Urbiztondo out of the mix, it meant both point guards can get a lot of minutes. Now with Barako Bull, he finds himself reunited with Urbiztondo, the incumbent starter. And for more bad news, Villanueva's new team has three more point guards after him and Urbiztondo, namely Celino Cruz, Roger Yap, and rookie Emman Monfort, all of whom could limit his minutes on the floor. 10. Ronald Tubid - This all depends on what Ronald Tubid wants for the remainder of his career. If he wants to chase a championship, then he’ll have a better chance with Petron, but if he wants to be the absolute best he can be, then this trade is horrible for him. The initially-rumored trade would have been better for the former UE Red Warrior. If he was traded for Joseph Yeo, then Tubid would have gotten minutes at the shooting guard position behind Chris Lutz. But since he was traded for Alex Mallari and Jojo Duncil, two players who barely got minutes in the Philippine Cup, it will be difficult to see Tubid getting lots of playing time with the Boosters, especially in the upcoming reinforced conferences. Tubid normed 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.7 steals in the Philippine Cup. He’ll be extremely lucky to average half of those stats. - AMD, GMA News