It looks like Yousef Taha is treading the road back to the PBA.
Alaska head coach Jeff Cariaso confirmed that the 6-foot-8 slotman has been working out with the Aces for the past week, indicating his desire to return to the league after not having a team to play for last season.
The veteran mentor did not divulge further details.
“Yousef has been working out with us the past week. That’s really all right now,” wrote Cariaso in a short text message to Tiebreaker Times on Thursday, the same day the organization signed seasoned forward Gab Banal.
This confirmed the report of SPIN.ph’s Snow Badua, where he said that the Aces are looking to sign the 32-year-old from the free agent pool to boost their frontline bannered by Vic Manuel, Abu Tratter, and Barkley Ebona.
Taha last played in the PBA in 2019 with TNT. He was part of the KaTropa crew that went all the way to the Commissioner’s Cup Finals. There, they bowed to Chris McCullough and San Miguel Beer in six games.
But his time with the flagship MVP Group franchise came to an end ealy 2020. He became part of the complicated three-team deal among TNT, Blackwater, and NLEX that had center Poy Erram as the focal point.
He wasn’t initially part of it, but got thrown into the mix upon the trade committee’s call for a revision. The Fil-Palestinian bruiser landed with the Elite but they did not use his services. That left him with no team for Season 45.
Taha has been in the PBA since 2012 after being the 11th overall pick by Air21. He has played for seven ball clubs since, including San Mig Coffee where he won his lone championship in the 2014 Governors’ Cup.
