Ginebra has parted ways with MJ Ayaay just days before the new PBA season.
The Barangay traded the incoming fourth-year guard to NorthPort in exchange for the latter’s 2023 second-round pick, the league posted on its website Friday.
Ayaay was picked up by the Kings via free agency back in February of last year after being unsigned by Alaska, the team that picked him in 2018.
The ninth overall selection of that top-heavy class was planned to be paired alongside Scottie Thompson, but hardly cracked the backcourt rotation.
He played in 11 games for Ginebra in the 2021 Philippine Cup and averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds, but his numbers dipped in the next conference.
Ayaay only saw action for a total of seven matches in the Governors’ Cup, buried deeper in the bench following the arrival of Nards Pinto.
Now, he joins a Batang Pier crew with a guard rotation led by Robert Bolick and also features Paolo Taha, Roi Sumang, and Renzo Subido.
NorthPort has also fortified its frontcourt by signing former TNT 3×3 member Chris Javier as its 15th man for the upcoming wars.
The Batang Pier will make their season debut opposite Rain or Shine on June 9, Thursday, 7:15 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.Northport
