CHICAGO — While independent team Converge was the first to engage Blackwater in trade talks, it was only a matter of time before others followed suit.
Sedrick Barefield is too big a fish for the rich teams to just sit around and watch while the water splashes.
READ Blackwater feelers for Barefield trade fail to get Converge interest
And on Saturday night, one of the hooks dropped.
According to multiple sources, a trade is being pushed to reel in the disgruntled Bossing point guard to San Miguel for Andreas Cahilig and Jericho Cruz.
TWO FOR ONE.
Cahilig, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who just inked a two-year contract extension last February, could get at Blackwater the playing time that has eluded him with the Beermen.
The ninth overall pick in the 2015 PBA Rookie Draft, Cruz is a five-time PBA champion who was voted the Finals MVP in the 2025 Philippine Cup.
Though aged 35, the Guamanian national team gunner still has a lot of game left in his arsenal.
Should the proposed swap go through, Jericho can provide stability and veteran leadership to a perennially rebuilding Blackwater.
San Miguel, meanwhile, potentially acquires a rising superstar in his prime who averaged 21 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the Season 50 PBA Commissioner Cup.
FAIR TRADE?
Given his well-documented unhappiness with the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in 2024, Barefield escapes to a much-needed change of scenery at the signature franchise of the SMC bloc.
In return, San Miguel receives a 29-year old stud which immediately turns back the clock on.a champion team whose veteran staples — CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross — have a combined age of 148.
Fresh start for Sedrick, fresh blood for San Miguel.
As for Blackwater?
“Ginto kapalit ang tanso ( gold for copper).” a person with knowledge of the low-key talks told me.
But hey, it’s the PBA, where unfair deals are commonplace.
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