Wednesday, June 25, 2025

‘Dealing with cards you’re dealt with’

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PROLIFIC but mercurial guard Mikey Williams has not seen action in the PBA the past 18 months due to a contract impasse with TNT.

Former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay and Converge playmaker Jordan Heading has been likewise sidelined by nagging back spasms since February.

The Tropang 5G, bidding to win it all in the Philippine Cup and capture the elusive grand slam, and the FiberXers agreed to swap their two gunners in a one-on-one deal last Wednesday.

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The PBA Commissioner’s office has yet to greenlight the trade at press time last night, but it seems the deal is a go.

For Converge interim coach Franco Atienza, he will deal with the cards he’s dealt with.

“I always look at the present. Sabi ko nga sa iyo, sa ngayon, wala pa sa practice ko iyon kahapon. Wala pa iyan sa bench namin. So, wala pa,” Atienza said.

“Iyon lang, I will deal with that. I will cross the bridge when we get to the bridge siguro,” he added.

The burning question: who wins in the trade?

The last sights of true-blue PBA fans of Williams, 33, were during TNT’s 4-2 title win against Ginebra in the season-ending Governors’ Cup two years ago.

For his exploits in that Big Dance, the never gun-shy Williams bagged a second finals MVP plum—the first award came in the 2021 import-less semi-bubble where the then-Tropang Giga beat the Magnolia Hotshots in five games.

The 6-foot-2 Williams saw action for Strong Group Athletics in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship but groped for form.

Heading, 29, has yet to play in the All-Filipino meet after back spasms slowed him down in Converge’s quarterfinals series against Rain or Shine in the last Commissioner’s Cup.

The lefty Heading is expected to don the Tropang 5G’s uniform this conference in their drive to complete a historic triple crown.

Especially since the flagship franchise of the MVP Group is missing the services of veteran Jayson Castro (out for the season due to a knee injury) and Rey Nambatac, who is recovering from a groin injury.

Armchair pundits have expressed fairness in this trade, with time the ultimate truth teller.

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