Niño Canaleta . FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Defending champion Talk ‘N Text acquired explosive scorer Niño Canaleta from Air21 as announced by the league’s official Twitter account @pbaconnect.
The Tropang Texters, fresh off a 103-79 beatdown of top-seeded Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings Sunday night to end the elimination round, landed an athletic and proven offensive threat in Canaleta in exchange for hardworking forward Sean Anthony, rookie guard Eliud Poligrates and a 2016 first round pick.
Anthony gives the Express a solid defender and rebounder who can also put the ball on the floor and make things happen offensively while the flashy Poligrates addresses their needs at the point guard position.
The Texters will parade their new-look lineup against the San Mig Coffee Mixers in their best-of-three quarterfinals duel set on Tuesday.
Canaleta led Air21 in scoring – averaging 16.5 points per game this conference.
The PBA approved the blockbuster trade Monday.