KIA finally secured the release papers of gunner Carlo Lastimosa from NLEX, paving the way for the mothballed shooting guard's transfer to the Picanto in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The letter – a copy of which SPIN.ph was able to obtain – was dated January 17 and signed by team representative Ronald Dulatre and head coach and general manager Yeng Guiao, although the Picanto only received it late Thursday.
“We hereby grant this letter of clearance to Mr. Carlo Dan Lastimosa, who formerly played for our basketball club, NLEX Road Warriors (Philippine Basketball Association),” read part of the letter.
“In addition, we are releasing him from our basketball team and that other PBA ballclubs may directly hire Carlo being (an) unrestricted free agent.”
The clearance meant Lastimosa could already suit up for the Picanto when they play Rain or Shine Elasto Painters this Saturday at the Astrodome.
Lastimosa has a live contract with NLEX which the team reportedly bought out prior to his transfer to KIA.
The Road Warriors decided to relegate Lastimosa and veteran guard Jonas Villanueva to the unrestricted free agent list prior to the start of the season since the team already had a total of 19 players in its roster.
Prior to his stint with NLEX, Lastimosa played for Barako Bull, which picked him 20th overall in the 2013 rookie draft, and Blackwater.
The entry of Lastimosa is expected to boost a Picanto side that has yet to win a game after four outings in the all-Filipino conference.
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