Meralco taps Cardona as its PBA franchise player

It didn't take long for Meralco, the newest member in the Philippine Basketball Association, to acquire a franchise player. Meralco went busy on the trading block on Friday to end up with a franchise player in Mac Mac Cardona while also landing up-and-coming star forward Beau Belga. Newly-installed Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio confirmed this new development to GMANews.TV. Gregorio, also the team's head of basketball operations, sent the details of the trade via a text message. Meralco will get the high-scoring Cardona via a three-team, four-player trade that also involved Air21 and Meralco's sister team, Talk 'N Text, guard Josh Urbiztondo and the Express’ No. 4 overall pick in the coming Rookie Draft on Aug. 29. Urbiztondo, a courageous guard inherited by Meralco upon acquiring the old Sta. Lucia franchise plus Meralco's No.3 pick in the coming draft, will be headed to Air21, which is in need of a backup point guard. The Tropang Texters, on the other hand, will get the No.4 pick from the Express, who officially own four first-round picks. "Our goal as early as Day 1 is to be competitive. In as much as we are focused on building this franchise, which could stand the test of time, I believe that Mac Mac will be an integral part in the whole process," said Gregorio, who is a strong candidate for the Coach of the Year award after steering Purefoods to the Philippine Cup crown against Alaska. "(Cardona) is a scorer who will help us on offense. He is a competitor who downright hates losing. I am excited to work with him," he added. Earlier in the day, Meralco also made a bold move by acquiring the services of the 6-foot-5 Belga, a young forward from Air21, in a separate three-player trade involving the three teams. In securing the rights on Belga, Meralco unloaded Ali Peek, who went back to the Tropang Texters while slotman JR Quiñahan had to be transferred again to the Express. Just a week after making a big jump to assume the coaching spot of the young Meralco franchise, Gregorio made known his intention to get a big-time scorer. And Cardona is the immediate solution. In other news, Willie Miller has reportedly signed a two-year extension for the Ginebra Gin Kings. Miller, who was traded to the Gin Kings last conference for Cyrus Baguio, is one of the many players, whose contract has expired. - JVP, GMANews.TV