Andre Paras will not be part of Blackwater’s PBA Philippine Cup campaign at the very least.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore big man has taken a leave of absence to focus on his budding showbusiness career.
Bossing interim head coach Ariel Vanguardia confirmed the development to Tiebreaker Times.
“Focus siya sa showbiz kaya wala siya sa lineup. Nag-take ng leave of absence,” said Vanguardia.
This does not mean though that Paras will be a free agent. His contract is currently frozen while his rights will remain with the Ever Bilena group.
“Yung rights naman niya nasa sa amin pa rin. Pero hindi pa namin alam hanggang kailan. Hindi naman namin hindi puwedeng payagan,” explained Vanguardia.
“Ayaw naman naming pigilan siya or paglaruin siya ng half-hearted.”
Paras, 26, played a total of 19 games for Blackwater last season.
During the Philippine Cup, he normed 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds while in the Governors’ Cup, he put up numbers of 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds.
With Paras out, Brandon Rosser still nursing a fractured right middle finger, and Jay Washington also still recovering from a nagging injury, Blackwater either signed or picked up a lot of big men.
Yousef Taha and Rey Publico were given a one-year deal along with 6-foot-5 free agent James Sena to help Barkley Ebona and Richard Escoto out.
The Bossing also drafted Mark Dyke and Ato Ular.
