AFTER a whirlwind free agency, it was Ginebra that won the Troy Rosario sweepstakes.
Rosario officially linked up with the Kings yesterday just in time for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup set to kick off tomorrow at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The pro league yesterday released team rosters, with the 6-foot-7 Rosario listed on Ginebra’s line-up for the mid-season tourney.
Rosario, 32, spent the last two years with Blackwater and was formally released by the Bossing after his contract expired last October, allowing him to sign up with any pro league squad—or bring his act overseas, if he opts to.
Blackwater tried to link up with Rosario anew but under the new rules of the pro league’s free agency, all players drafted from 2015 can automatically declare for unrestricted free agency after their seventh season.
Aside from the Bossing, TNT, Rosario’s original home, and Converge made offers to land the former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay.
Rosario was chosen No. 2 overall by Mahindra (now Terrafirma) in the 2015 Draft but was promptly shipped to the Tropang Giga where he saw action for seven seasons until he was traded to the Bossing in 2022 in a deal that also involved Calvin Oftana and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
The former National University standout was good for 17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists last season.
Blackwater fell just short of the quarterfinals of the season-opening Governors’ Cup despite the stellar showing of replacement import George King.
Rosario’s addition should be a big boost to Ginebra’s sudden gaping hole at the middle after the Kings send star big man Christian Standhardinger to the Dyip in the off-season and the knee injuries of Isaac Go and Jamie Malonzo.
Ginebra fell to TNT anew 2-4 in the Big Dance of the last Governors’ Cup.
The Kings open their Commissioner’s Cup bid when they battle the NLEX Road Warriors on Dec. 11, Wednesday, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Rosario won a title with the Tropang Giga in the Philippine Cup semi-bubble in Bacolor three years ago. He just wants two things—career renaissance and stability.