Never in his wildest dreams did PBA veteran Juami Tiongson think that this day would come.
But it did on Monday.
In what he and many other basketball fans probably believe was an early Christmas gift for Tiongson, the 11-year PBA veteran was traded to San Miguel Beer, along with Terrafirma teammate Andreas Cahilig, for the duo of Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel.
READ SMB trades Terrence Romeo, Vic Manuel to Dyip for Juami Tiongson, Cahilig
"Exciting," was the word Tingson used in describing the good fortune that fell on him and Cahilig as both will join a team which, when it fails to win a championship in a season, would call that season a dismal failure.
The blockbuster trade was consumated on Monday although it has been the talk around town because the two SMB stars, though regarded to still have several years of good basketball ahead of them, had slowly been wearing out their welcome at the SMB front office.
For Tiongson, his transfer is expected to change the trajectory of his career which can best be described as a dead end after spending years with Blacwater, NLEX and lastly, with Terrafirma where he played the last four years, a period marked by a single playoffs appearance.
“It’s a new journey,” Tiongson told SPIN.ph shortly after being traded just two days before start of the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup.
“Looking forward and very excited din. Siyempre June Mar [Fajardo] at CJ Perez yun," Tiongson said, happy at the thought of having the two SMB stars as teammates.
It’s actually a reunion for Tiongson and Perez, who once shared the backcourt for Terrafirma. He also gets to play anew with Jericho Cruz, a former teammate at NLEX.
Both Tiongson and Cahilig attended their first practice at San Miguel on Monday shortly after the transactions were finalized.
A four-time UAAP champion with Ateneo, Tiongson, also the Most Improved Player in 2021, admitted being surprised by the trade, which to him is a sudden change of environment.
“Nagulat din ako. Akala ko wala ng gagalaw kasi start na rin yung conference,” said Tiongson.
So what was expected to be simply another Terrafirma adjustment for him following the exit of coach Johnedel Cardel for new mentor Raymund Tiongco, has taken another twist for his career.
A happy one.
READ PBA sale? All the Terrafirma players traded over the past 4 months
With new team SMB, Tiongson sees himself having a chance at adding a new chapter in his more than a decade of pro basketball: winning his first PBA championship.
Tiongson never came close to compete for a championship in his time with Blackwater, NLEX, and more so, with Terrafirma, one of the PBA's weakest teams.
But the 5-foot-10, high-scoring guard doesn’t expect good things to develop overnight although there's a chance it might because of SMB's winning culture.
“More work to be done,” said Tiongson, excited but ready to do the heavy lifting.
He dons the San Miguel jersey for the first time together with Cahilig on December 3 when the team makes its conference debut against Phoenix.
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