PBA approves Baguio, Cruz trade to Air21

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) on Saturday gave its approval on the earlier trade consummated between Red Bull and Air21. The decision was reached by commissioner Sonny Barrios shortly after holding talks with league vice-chairman Lito Alvarez of the Express and the Bulls’ representative to the PBA board Tony Chua. That meant Cyrus Baguio and Celino Cruz are now formally part of the Air21 Express after the Photokina franchise traded them for draft picks in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In a press statement, the league said the trade was approved accordingly after both Alvarez and Chua assured Barrios that their respective teams will address the commissioner’s concerns and will continue to uphold the PBA’s rules and regulations, particularly those pertaining to the team salary cap. Although rumors of the trade came out as early as last week, the deal wasn’t completed until Christmas Eve. But the Commissioner’s Office deferred giving the transaction the green light as Barrios stressed he wanted to clarify certain points of the trade. He refused to elaborate on the matter. Baguio, the high-flying guard out of University of Santo Tomas, will be suiting up for the Express in their wildcard game against Purefoods Sunday night while Cruz is going to play his first game with the franchise should Air21 advances into the quarterfinals. For Red Bull, the trade was the latest in a series of moves that saw the team unload its star players one after the other. It first released former Most Improved Player Enrico Villanueva, followed by Lordy Tugade, Larry Fonacier, Junthy Valenzuela and then Mick Pennisi. – GMANews.TV