Grading the deal: Petron adds Mercado, as GlobalPort, Barako and Air21 shuffle their players

Four teams, seven players. The Petron Blaze Boosters aka the soon-to-be San Miguel Beermen, Barako Bull Energy Cola, GlobalPort Batang Pier and the Air21 Express beat the NBA trade deadline (wek wek) and started the Commissioner's Cup preparations with a bang. With squad got the best of all the wheeling and dealing? Check out our trade grades below:

[Review the full trade here]

Petron Blaze Boosters / San Miguel Beermen

Receives: Sol Mercado, Rico Maierhofer
Sends out: Alex Cabagnot, Jason Deutchman, 2016 second round pick, 2017 second round pick

Once again, on paper, the Boosters/Beermen look like they received a huge upgrade. Mercado is a much more scoring-oriented point guard than Cabagnot, and with his build, he’s capable of barreling his way to the hoop against bigger defenders. Maierhofer may not have Deutchman’s height, but he’s more versatile, and memorably put up a 21-point, 11-rebound, 5-assist outing against the Beermen in the Philippine Cup’s quarterfinals.

[Infographic: Check out what the numbers say about Alex Cabagnot and Sol Mercado]

However, one wonders if Mercado and Maierhofer actually fit what the Beermen are trying to do. “Sol Train” is at his best going to the basket, instead of jacking up triples, but he’ll find the lane to be a bit more clogged, what with June Mar Fajardo camped out down there. And should Fajardo pass it back out when doubled to Mercado for a trey, the former Batang Pier hit at an alarming 17.33 percent clip, a huge step down from Cabagnot.

The wildcard in this equation could be consultant Todd Purves, who is supposed to take on a larger role with the team. His offense could be radically different from former-coach, now-manager Gee Abanilla, and Purves did some great things with point guards Stanley Pringle and former Adamson Falcon Jerick Canada.

As for Maierhofer, he is a big upgrade from Deutchman, who tended to drift outside the paint for jump shots. That said, the former DLSU Green Archer gives up an inch or two in height, and it may not even matter that much when you consider Deutchman logged just 10.33 minutes per game, with nine DNP’s in the PHL Cup. Add in an import over the next two conferences, and it’s hard to see him stealing playing time from the likes of Fajardo, Arwind Santos and Doug Kramer.

Overall, the moves make Petron better, but how much better will be hard to tell until they get into the postseason and find themselves with their backs to the wall anew.

Grade: C+


GlobalPort Batang Pier

Receives: Alex Cabagnot, Bonbon Custodio
Sends out: Sol Mercado, Leo Najorda

In terms of passing and shooting percentage, Alex Cabagnot is several steps above Sol Mercado, but like Petron, fit could be the issue here. Mercado’s heft allowed him to slide over to the two-guard position while rookies RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo manned the point. Cabagnot can sort of do the same, but the defense will be compromised a lot more, especially against some of the bigger shooting guards out there.

Here's what Cabagnot brings to the table: he's a more willing passer, and will get his guys more open looks, plus, he’s a better three-point shooter. The trade might also mean more three-guard line-ups for GlobalPort, which seeing as how the team reportedly released Jaypee Belencion and traded away Leo Najorda, might actually be a necessity.

Custodio can fit in those three-guard sets, but he had some pretty forgettable outings with Air21 and will need to win over new head coach Pido Jarencio to get playing time.

In an interesting quirk, the team was reportedly also set to re-acquire Yousef Taha in exchange for rookie Justin Chua, but an obscure PBA rule prevented the exchange from going through. While it’s true that Chua will likely struggle to find minutes with an import, Jay Washington, Eric Menk, and the returning Enrico Villanueva ahead of him on the depth chart, his upside is higher than Taha, and he may sway the coaching staff over in practice.

Grade: B- (includes not trading Chua)


Read what grades Barako Bull and Air21 received:

Barako Bull Energy Cola

Receives: Leo Najorda, Jason Deutchman
Sends out: Jonas Villanueva, Rico Maierhofer

Barako probably won’t mind shipping out Jonas Villanueva. After all, the point guard missed the entirety of the 2013 Governors’ Cup, and he played just the first five games of the 2013-14 Philippine Cup, before sitting the rest of the way. With him out, the likes of Dennis Miranda, offseason acquisition Rob Labagala, and rookie Jeric Fortuna, will get more playing time to show their worth.

However, it’s not immediately clear why the team took back Leo Najorda, whom they traded a little over a year ago to San Mig Coffee. With JC Intal coming on strong at the end of the Philippine Cup, and Keith Jensen showing flashes of brilliance, it’d be a crime if he ate into their playing time.

It’s also not clear why they traded away Rico Maierhofer, especially for someone as raw as Jason Deutchman. The second-year big man replicates a lot of what they already have with Mick Pennisi, and it’s not as if he’d get much playing time at the center spot between the aforementioned Pennisi and Dorian Peña.

Grade: D


Air21 Express

Receives: Jonas Villanueva
Sends out: Bonbon Custodio

The Express in the Philippine Cup tried mightily to convert Joseph Yeo and Bonbon Custodio into point guards, and were more successful with the former than the latter. That said, they finally broke down and acquired rookie floor general Eliud Poligrates, just before the Philippine Cup quarters began, from Talk ’N Text. Should Villanueva be healthy, he’ll provide some competition for starter’s minutes, but as mentioned in the Barako Bull section, health has been the thing holding him back for the past two conferences.

Grade: C-


- GMA News