In anticipation for the upcoming season in January 2019, the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) San Miguel and Talk N Text have made an agreement to trade Beermen’s previous round one picks Brian Heruela and David Semerad for Katropa’s Terrence Romeo. San Miguel has also given up their first-round draft pick in 2020 to TnT.
Numerous PBA teams were interested in the 26-year-old guard Romeo after Katropa put him on the trading block. The three-time scoring champion had issues with his management in Katropa, as they were upset that the former Far Eastern University (FEU) player went away without leave (AWOL) for the past month and missed their Christmas party last week. Initially, Romeo was actually with Pido Jarencio-led NorthPort, until he was sent to TnT this past season for his outbursts, which included the infamous brawl between Gilas Pilipinas and Australia during a 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifier match.
The two teams, as well as the players, have been waiting for the approval from Commissioner Willie Marcial in order to pursue the trade. With the Commissioner’s go signal, Semerad will be reunited with brother Anthony in Katropa, as Heruela will have a new experience as his first time in the PBA was alongside Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross in Blackwater Elite.
Among the ongoing trades also include NLEX and Blackwater, as they are trading rookies Paul Desiderio, Abu Tratter, and Poy Erram. Desiderio and Tratter were just acquired by NLEX in the recent PBA Rookie Draft that occurred last Sunday, December 16 and were spotted at the Road Warriors’ practice the day after entering the pros.
However, Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy confirmed, “Yes, we already sent the trade papers and we’re now waiting for the PBA to approve it,” also adding that big-man Mike Miranda was also requested from NLEX. Paul Zamar, on the other hand, was released to the San Miguel Beermen in exchange for their second-round picks in 2021 and 2022.