THE Seoul SK Knights announced on Friday the signing of PBA star Arvin Tolentino as their Asian import for the next Korea Basketball League (KBL) season.
The announcement ends weeks of uncertainty on the status of Tolentino, who hasn't played for NorthPort in the PBA since news leaked out that he was weighing offers from overseas at the end of his contract with the Batang Pier.
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The SK Knights are three-time KBL champions are coming off a runner-up finish to Carl Tamayo and Changwon LG Sakers last season, made the announcement on their social media accounts.
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At the same time, the KBL team announced that it has parted with Juan Gomez de Liano, who played sparingly as the SK Knights' Asian import last season.
Tolentino's departure comes as another major blow for the Batang Pier, just days after the struggling PBA team traded another rising star in William Navarro to Magnolia for veteran Calvin Abueva, Jerick Balanza, and a future second-round pick.
Tolentino, 29, and Navarro were part of the young core of the Batang Pier team that made a rare appearance in the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup. Tolentino was voted the Best Player of the Conference.
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Another promising member of that core, Zavier Lucero, was likewise traded to Magnolia for veterans Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter 10 months earlier.
The 6-foot-5 forward out of FEU played close to five seasons in the PBA prior to news of his departure, winning two championships with Barangay Ginebra - the same team that drafted him in the first round at 10th overall in 2020.
The do-it-all wingman also was part of two gold medal-winning Gilas Pilipinas teams in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
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