Jio Jalalon ended up in TNT, after all.
The veteran playmaker has signed a season-long deal with the Tropang 5G a day before the PBA raises the curtains on a historic golden season, managing to find a new home after a supposed trade got nullified.
NorthPort had intended to trade him to Blackwater for Justin Chua, but the league declared a moratorium on trade involving Batang Pier players pending the franchise’s sale to Pureblends.
NorthPort has since been bought by the food manufacturing company, which will carry the Titan Ultra banner.
But the Giant Risers apparently have no plans to keep Jalalon and make him part of what they’re building, enabling the 32-year-old to become an unrestricted free agent when his contract expired last September 30.
And so, the one-time PBA champion was free to sign with any team, which eventually turned out to be TNT — the same team rumored to be his final destination had the trade pushed through.
“God is great,” Jalalon wrote on Facebook as he shared the photo posted by sports agent Danny Espiritu that features him and Tropang 5G team manager Jojo Lastimosa, with the fresh contract on the table.
The former PBA Press Corps Defensive Player of the Year serves as a solid addition to a backcourt that features Rey Nambatac, Roger Pogoy, and Jordan Heading, not to mention his championship pedigree.
His arrival at TNT also marks a reunion of sorts with some of his Gilas Pilipinas family in Pogoy, head coach Chot Reyes, and Kevin Ferrer, who earlier signed with the flagship MVP franchise as a free agent as well.
As for Chua, the seasoned big man has been released by the Bossing, Tiebreaker Times has learned.
