Just a few days before the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft, the NLEX Road Warriors and Phoenix Fuel Masters made their moves early in anticipation of the upcoming event on Sunday, December 16 at the Robinsons Place in Ermita.
The NLEX Road Warriors acquired fourth draft pick overall after trading players Alex Mallari and Dave Marcelo to the Phoenix Fuel Masters, whose papers have already been sent to the Commissioner’s office awaiting approval. The trade also states that the Fuel Masters received NLEX’s second-round pick during the draft, which adds to their 12th draft pick during the first round that was acquired earlier in the season after trading Jeff Chan into Ginebra.
Phoenix head coach Louie Alas told ESPN5 about their decision, saying, “I already know who I want at No. 4 but the problem is I don’t know who the top three picks will be. I might not get who I want. What we want, though, was presented in this deal — a reliable utility guard which is Alex. Then I was considering Abu Tratter at No. 4 but then they offered Dave, who is similar to Tratter — same height and same physique. Everything we need, we got with just one pick.” He refers to Alex Mallari who averaged 6.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game and Dave Marcelo who averaged 2.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the 2018 Governor’s Cup. Both players are in year six in the professional basketball league and the Phoenix Fuel Masters will be their fifth team so far.
Mallari described “NLEX heading in a different direction” as “a business move” saying, “I’m just here to do this job. It’s not new to me. It’s all part of it,” adding, “Anytime your contract is up, you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he added. “If something comes up, you’re not gonna be shocked about it. Whatever happens, happens.” He also stated that he is “actually excited” to play with his new team because “they got a lot of new talent there for sure.”