Burger King gets Pingris, Bono for Santos

Burger King’s revamp for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 2009-2010 season has just started.

The Whopper have retaken the services of Marc Pingris, former UAAP most valuable player (MVP) Ken Bono and another future first round pick from San Miguel in exchange of do-it-all forward Arwind Santos, completing one of the many expected blockbuster trades to happen in the PBA off season.

The transaction was completed late Monday night, according to Burger King board representative and incoming PBA chairman Lito Alvarez.

“I believe this trade is fair enough. We were able to secure Pingris, who is not far behind in the caliber of Arwind Santos, Bono and a first round pick next year," Alvarez told GMANews.TV

But the acquisition of Pingris and Bono gave the Whopper a dilemma of unloading some of their players. Their roster is expected to bloat to as high as 17 and they need to let go five players.

The Whopper also has three first-round picks in the coming PBA Rookie Draft on August 2.

“That’s the problem we’re encountering right now," said Alvarez. “We want to maintain 12 players and I expect our roster to bloat with 17 players. We certainly need to unload players."

Pingris going back to Purefoods?

Pingris is one among the few players who played with different champion teams – Purefoods and San Miguel Beer. He started his PBA career with Air21, but flourished as a member of the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.

In fact, his transfer to Purefoods brought an immediate impact to the team, which made it to the finals twice in the 2005-06 season winning the All-Filipino championship the same year.

The 6-foot-4 Pingris was also voted as the Finals MVP in the Giants’ 4-2 victory over the Red Bull Barakos in their best-of-seven finals series.

Forced to unload players, Alvarez said he might offer Pingris to Purefoods again in exchange for a future first round pick.

“I understand that Purefoods wants Pingris back in its fold. I might offer him to them for a future first round pick," said Alvarez.

Whopper want to infuse new blood

Owning three first-round draft picks gives every team brighter hopes but aside from this, the Whopper are also setting their sights on Barako Bull’s Larry Rodriguez.

Rodriguez played for Yeng Guiao’s final season with the Barakos and the fiery mentor reportedly wants to acquire the services of the bruising sophomore forward to add toughness in the Whopper’s frontline.

“Gustung-gusto siya ni coach Yeng eh, so we might negotiate with Barako Bull in order to get his services," said Alvarez, referring to the former Philippine Maritime Institute standout, who caught the fancy of the multi-titled mentor.

The Whopper have the Nos.1, 3 and 8 picks in the first round. They might tab Japeth Aguilar, who also drew the interest of several teams, as their top overall rookie pick.