RAIN or Shine has finally pulled the trigger on a trade for Raymond Almazan, sending the beleaguered bruiser to Meralco.
Sources bared the franchise co-owned by Raymond Yu and Terry Que has decided to part ways with the Gilas Pilipinas bruiser in exchange for a pair of future first-round picks.
"Ang kapalit is yung first-rounder sa next draft at yung sa one draft after. So it's two first-rounders in the next three years. Pero depende pa rin sa approval yun," one source said.
Trade papers have already been submitted to the Office of the Commissioner last Friday, but the deal is still awaiting approval.
Commissioner Willie Marcial and his trade committee will discuss the trade once work resumes on Tuesday.
Rain or Shine picked Almazan third overall in the 2013 PBA Rookie Draft behind only Greg Slaughter and Ian Sangalang and he blossomed under the guidance of coach Yeng Guiao.
In his six years with the Elasto Painters, the Orion, Bataan native was named an All-Star twice and earned a call-up to the national team a number of times.
However, the former Letran star has had a rough few years with the Rain or Shine franchise, at one point disappearing for days amid talk of a strained relationship with Guiao's successor, Caloy Garcia.
Almazan only suited up for six games in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, averaging 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Spin.ph sought Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo for confirmation, but he refused to issue any comments on the matter.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
