GlobalPort beefs up its lineup

GlobalPort Batang Pier, which placed tenth and last in the PBA First Conference Philippine Cup this season, did not waste time in shaking up its roster in an effort to get better immediately. In the second wave of trades before the Commissioner’s Cup, Global Port completed two separate trades, with Talk ‘N Text and Meralco, respectively, which make the Batang Pier, at least on paper, a much more formidable team than last conference.

In all, GlobalPort acquired five players: center Japeth Aguilar from TNT in exchange for Rabeh Al-Hussaini, and star guard Solomon Mercado, rookie big man Kelly Nabong, rookie guard Jaypee Belencion and utility guy Yousef Aljamal from Meralco, in exchange for shooter Josh Vanlandingham, powerful rookie Vic Manuel, athletic Rey Guevarra and a 2015 First Round Draft Pick.

For over a week, Aguilar was in the news because of alleged trade demands he made to TNT, which still owned his rights despite his being away the entire Philippine Cup, trying his luck abroad. Aguilar purportedly wanted more playing time elsewhere, where he could blossom. Despite reports that TNT management did not have any plans to send him out, it seems that the Al-Hussaini-Norman Black reunion gave TNT enough reason to part with the athletic, high-leaping Aguilar. Black, it seems, has been the coach who has most successfully motivated Al-Hussaini, who dominated under Black for Ateneo in the UAAP. It could work again in the pros.

RELATED: Black happy to be reunited with Al-Hussaini

With Aguilar, Global Port gets a shipload of potential – potential to be a dominant defensive demon, a shotblocker and intimidator, who will prevent nonchalant drives into the paint. Aguilar can be a more than adequate scorer and rebounder, though scoring will not be his duty (especially with Willie Miller, Gary David, and, now, Mercado, on the team). Will he finally break out and show us all how good he can really be? Coach Junel Baculi, who already declared that Aguilar will need to earn playing time, sure hopes so.

Al-Hussaini, on the other hand, will be a hopefully reliable back-up to the formidable frontliners of TNT, who just controlled the paint in the Philippine Cup Championship series. Not being the main big guy will surely benefit Rabeh, and his rebounding and defensive shortcomings can easily be masked by his teammates. If he can get his reliable, soft touch in the paint back, reminiscent of his MVP days in college, he will be yet another deadly tool for the already lethal Texters.

The part of this set of transactions that had many shaking their heads was Meralco’s shipping out of Mercado. He just led the league in both scoring and assists in the Philippine Cup and would probably have been the Best Player of the Conference if his former team had made it far into the playoffs. His being traded right after posting the stats he did immediately drew vehement reactions from Meralco faithful.

RELATED: Mercado says goodbye to Bolts on Twitter

Aside from having good statistics, Mercado was also his team’s spiritual leader, many times its heart and soul. He will bring a complete package to Global Port – scoring, passing, tremendous strength at the guard position, ability to break down defenders and get to the rim, and leadership. In the same package comes inconsistent shooting, an occasional propensity for turnovers, and lack of height that bigger guards can exploit.

He will not need to score as much, with proven scorers like Gary David and Willie Miller at his side. With Smart-Gilas, he showed he can be a primary facilitator, and he will probably do the same with the Batang Pier. Depending on how quickly he adapts to Baculi’s system and adjusts to his new teammates (of course it helps that Nabong, et al. came with him from Meralco), which should not take long from a player of his caliber, I expect him to continue his rise as a legitimate PBA star.

Nabong gives Global Port a big man who can bang inside, fights for the ball, and has some nifty moves as well in the paint. I think he has been one of the best rookie big men this season so far. Aljamal has shown he can score when given the chance, and despite his lack of frontcourt size, is a good rebounder. Belencion is a throw-in in the deal who can give spot minutes as a deep back-up guard.

For Meralco, solid rookie Manuel was probably the main target. He had a slow start in the Philippine Cup, but as he accumulated games, his steadiness showed and he began to get comfortable in his role as a jump-shooter, inside operator and garbage man in the lane. Manuel has such a big upside to him and though perhaps his nickname, “The Muscle Man”, seems a misnomer to many, he is strong and persistent, and is a handful for opposing defenders. He should team up very well with Meralco rookie standout Cliff Hodge.

Guevarra gives the Bolts an athletic wingman, a guy who can hit outside shots and loves to run. With a legion of fans because of silver screen looks, he is surely more than just a pretty face. This player has serious basketball skills, can jump high, and, I feel, still plays as if he has something to prove, which is definitely to his advantage. For a team that sometimes finds it hard to score, he could be one of the main weapons for the Bolts.

Vanlandingham is a steady shooter. He rarely makes mistakes, can go on fantastic shooting streaks where he can hit from beyond the arc and bring his team back from a big deficit or stretch a lead, and gives great effort every game. He will be a reliable and ready back-up for Coach Ryan Gregorio.

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Again, it will be interesting to see how this set of player movements impacts the team standings. Coach Gregorio mentioned something about Meralco being in a “rebuilding mode”, which immediately indicates that the team’s expectations are not that high. The lineup is solid, and with veterans like Mark Cardona, Chris Ross, Ronjay Buenafe (for now), and Jay-R Reyes, among others, combined with the newcomers, the Bolts could surprise some teams.

Some believe that GlobalPort, the latest cellar dweller, is, on paper, now a serious contender. The team will have to show chemistry and develop camaraderie quickly, and hope that its import complements the locals. Surely, the Batang Pier lineup improved. How much? That remains to be seen.

Once again, we wish the best of luck to all the players involved in the latest transactions.

You can follow Charlie on Twitter @Charlie C.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.