CHICAGO — It’s the PBA’s worst-kept secret: Sedrick Barefield wants to play elsewhere, preferably with the SMC group.
Unfortunately, the righfs and contractual bars that imprison him at Blackwater are too thick to escape from.
But with his contract expiring and suitors lining up at the gates, a breakthrough could be imminent for the 29-year old Fil-Am.
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An architect, Rey Punongbayan, attended the Bossing’s practice on Tuesday morning and introduced himself as Barefield’s agent, a person with knowledge of the situation told me.
Sometime last December, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard informed the league commissioner via email that he was changing his PBA representation and had reached out to a well-known local agent.
UNEXPECTED TURN.
The Punongbayan pivot was sudden, unexpected. And multiple attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
“Sedrick could be traded anytime now and until the end of the season when his contract expires,” a source tild me.
To Ginebra San Miguel?
What’s clear is the affinity of Fil-Ams to play for revered coach Tim Cone and the tendency of San Miguel to embrace Fil-Ams.
TNT, with its weight and resources, can never be counted out.
After a failed Season 50 PBA Commissioners Cup title defense, holes in the Tropang 5G’s guards spots were exposed like fading ridges of an old tire.
NEW FACE OF THE FRANCHISE?
Jayson Castro is oft-injured, a function of age and wear-and-tear.
Jordan Heading is still great but consistency sometimes eludes him playing extended minutes on a dense conference schedule is a concern.
Rey Nambatac, a PBA Finals MVP just a year ago, had somehow fallen off the map and could be shipped back to Blackwater where he played for one conference in the 2024-25 season.
Return to sender deals are nothing new. Just ask Juami Tiongson who tasted the playoffs prosperity at San Miguel before being recently shipped back to the abject poverty at Terrafirma via the Jerrick Ahanmisi trade.
Averaging 21 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, Barefield immediately transforms TNT as a more formidable contender.
Having already lost Mikey Williams to Converge, TNT coach Chot Reyes may have found his next shooting star.
What would Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy do?
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