Air21 trades players with Talk 'N' Text

Air21 Express has traded Yancy de Ocampo ang Leo Avenido to the Talk 'N' Text Phone Pals for Abby Santos and Mark Andaya and the two first-round picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. In an e-mailed statement on Wednesday, Air 21 team manager Lito Alvarez said the trade would give more playing time to Express hotshot Gary David, Mark Telan, and comebacking Homer Se. Alvarez explained that David and Avenido "are fighting for the same playing time while Telan and Se will now alternately man the slot with the departure of De Ocampo." This will be the second time that the Phone Pals are getting De Ocampo, who was sent to the Express last season by TNT. "David is playing his finest basketball in his career, and the coaching staff is 100 percent behind him in our efforts to make him one of our franchise players," Alvarez said. "Sayang naman kung hindi namin siya mabibigyan ng playing time that he deserves." "As for Telan and Se, I believe they have what it takes to fill the void left off by Yancy. I think this trade is beneficial to both of our teams," Alvarez added. Currently, Air 21 is at eighth spot in the standings but they're optimistic that they can advance to the quarterfinals with a current line up led by KG Canaleta and David. "We are slowly but surely getting the right combination of players, who could carry out the team's philosophy and goal of barging into the league's winners' circle," Alvarez said. The Express and the Phone Pals have been good trading partners. Last year, Air21 sent its shooting guard RenRen Ritualo to TNT for the latter's amateur picks in 2007 and 2008. - GMANews.TV