Converge has yet to reach a deal with three former Alaska cogs as contract negotiations are still ongoing even as the new PBA season is days away.
FiberXers governor Chito Salud said that the team remains in talks with Abu Tratter, Robbie Herndon, and Maverick Ahanmisi — players whose rights were inherited by the newest ball club after its purchase of the Aces.
Their names have not yet been included in the official lineup rolled out by the league ahead of the 2022 Philippine Cup, which starts June 5.
“As in any other team situation, those who have not yet signed will not be part of the roster,” the former league commissioner said during the preseason press conference, Monday at the Conrad Manila Hotel in Pasay.
“We’re still negotiating. And as soon as those agreements are secured, we will file our UPC with the PBA,” he added.
“It’s as simple as that.”
Herndon is already back in the country but Tratter and Ahanmisi are still in the US.
“Some are still abroad, some are here. But at the end of the day, it will be the terms of the agreement that will count,” Salud said.
Herndon was among Alaska’s top scorers in the last Governors’ Cup with averages of 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds. Tratter had 9.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, as Ahanmisi made 8.2 per outing in the same conference.
Ex-Aces already signed by Converge were Allyn Bulanadi, RK Ilagan, Mike DiGregorio, Kevin Racal, MikeTolomia, and Alec Stockton. They will join main man Jeron Teng, Taylor Browne, and Ben Adamos.
Rookies secured were NCAA big men Jeo Ambohot and Justin Arana, the third and fourth overall picks of the Season 47 Draft, respectively.
Also not signed by Converge yet are Tyrus Hill and Kameron Vales — rookies they got from that draft either through a pick or a trade.
Curiously, Tratter, Ahanmisi, Hill, and Vales are under sports agency Argus Ossa Sports.
