PBA: Petron claims Arboleda off waivers, trades him to Air21 for Duncil

The Air21 Express finally got their man, albeit in a round-about way.

The Express dealt guard Jojo Duncil to the Petron Blaze Boosters in exchange for Wynne Arboleda, after the reigning Governors' Cup champs acquired him off waivers earlier in the week.

PBA commissioner Chito Salud approved the swap Thursday, the official PBA website announced.

Arboleda had been granted an unconditional release by his former team, the Barako Bull Energy, which allowed Petron to swoop in and sign the heady point guard.

Because the Air21 and Barako Bull franchises are both owned by the Lina Group of Companies, the two clubs were prevented by PBA rules from trading directly with each other.

Instead of finding a third party to course the trade through though, Barako Bull instead waived Arboleda, with Air21 hoping to negotiate a deal with whichever team landed him, which is exactly what happened.

Arboleda figured in two contests with the Energy this conference before cutting ties with that team, averaging 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2 steals in 23 minutes. The team has since then given ball-handling responsibilities to the likes of Celino Cruz, Willie Miller and Shawn Weinstein.

Duncil on the other hand, has yet to register a minute for the Express in the Governor's Cup, perhaps as a prelude to the team making their move. He was however quite a productive player in the Commissioner's Cup, starting all nine games and putting up averages of 9.89 points, 3.11 rebounds and 1.44 assists in 26.22 minutes.

Air21 will likely hand over the lead floor general role to Arboleda, shifting Paolo Hubalde back to a reserve role. The Express completed a revamp of their backcourt, having previously dealt RJ Jazul to the Alaska Aces in exchange for rookie Eric Salamat.

Ironically, Duncil was a member of Petron's title-winning team last season in the Governor's Cup, before being traded away in the off-season to the then-Shopinas.com Clickers (now Air21 Express).

The former UST Growling Tiger however now finds himself on a stacked roster, with players like Alex Cabagnot, Dennis Miranda, Chris Lutz, Joseph Yeo and Chico Lanete all jockeying for minutes at the guard position on the floor. - AMD, GMA News