CHICAGO -- When TNT proposed a trade to acquire Rey Nambatac from Blackwater last June 5, it took 27 days before the league gave the go signal.
The long process suggested due diligence on the part of the Study Group and the appearance that the PBA office actively polices team transactions in a way that upholds fairness.
All of that got thrown in the garbage can today after the PBA's official website announced that San Miguel staples Vic Manuel and Terrence Romeo were traded to Terrafirma for cold gunner Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig.
READ: Christmas comes early for SMB new-boy Juami Tiongson
This four-player swap had the look, the feel, and the ungodly execution of a midnight appointment.
Nothing was ever reported about a proposed trade in the works.
It was as if Kume Willie Marcial just merrily waved his magic wand and San Miguel immediately got better.
A TRADE TRAVESTY
By the numbers, the trade seemed innocent. The injured Tinogson was held to four games last conference and averaged 9.5 points and three assists per compared to Romeo's 11.2 points and two assists per in nine games.
Cahilig, meanwhile, averaged 5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 10 games against Manuel's 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per in eight games.
But here's the unquantifiable difference. Tiongson and Cahilig are still in their primes while Romeo's and Manuel's glory days are fading like well-worn jeans.
Juami and Andreas are still robust studs while Terrence and Vic are often burdened by injuries.
I called and sent text messages to Terrafirma governor Bobby Y. Rosales and team manager Ronald Tubid. I wanted to ask them the rationale, assuming there even is one, behind this move.
Crickets. Quiet as Sunday service.
In a way, I'm glad both gents didn't respond because our intelligence was spared from the insult of whatever excuse Rosales and Tubid would conjure.
SELF-DESTRUCTION
After trading away Rookie of the Year Stephen Holt and Isaac Go to Ginebra last July for two players past their primes -- Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger -- the Dyip have once again gone out of their way to let go of precious assets to benefit a rich team.
San Miguel just got younger while the Dyip has four All-Stars with a combined age of 141 years.
Terrafirma is self-flagellating and has become a danger to itself and the other teams in the league as it pertains to competitiveness.
Why does this godforsaken franchise continue to exist? And where is the league's oversight on this latest personnel hara-kiri?
I also called and texted Kume Marcial seeking an interview. Predictably, he didn't reply,
My guess is that Mr. Marcial is out there chilling, wishing, hoping and praying that this trade nightmare will be quickly washed away by the news cycle like dirty, pungent laundry.
It won't.
In the end, today's shocking event reminded us of two things we already know about the PBA.
Terrafirma is a loser, and when it comes to trades favoring SMC squads, it appears that Kume Marcial has the power of a dead generator.
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