Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ael Banal and Jason Melano are returning to their old stomping grounds, this time to see action for Blustar Detergent in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
Blackwater team manager Johnson Martines said he will loan his two wards to the Dragons.
Banal, the first non-Gilas play selected in the 2016 PBA Rookie Draft, has played sparingly in his first conference with Blackwater.
The 6-foot-2 guard collected 10 points, five steals, and four rebounds in the nine games he has played this past 2017 PBA Philippine Cup.
Melano, meanwhile, has only played for a game with the Elite, finishing with two points and two rebounds in six minutes in his lone appearance against San Miguel last January 6.
Blustar has yet to win a game in the two outings and assistant coach Britt Reroma shared a Filipino reinforcement will definitely be a plus for the team.
“We need them to help the team. It’s really a different level of basketball for the Malaysian players that we have,” he said.
The Dragons returns to action on Tuesday against Cafe France at JCSGO Gym in Cubao.