By Adrian Stewart Co

Joseph Evans “Jvee” Casio ended his close to a decade of stint with the Alaska Aces after being traded to Blackwater Bossing in a two-team, two-player trade yesterday.

Based on the trade deal, Casio along with center Kevin Barkley Ebona are headed to the Bossing in exchange for Chris Michael Tolomia and a 2023 second-round draft pick to the Aces.

The Aces-Bossing player swap transaction papers were submitted to the PBA Commissioner’s Office yesterday afternoon and it is expected to be approved within the day.

The 35-year-old Casio is expected to provide experience to the Bossing, which is on a rebuilding mode by tapping Ariel Vanguardia as its new head coach just last month.

Casio, a former De La Salle University Green Archers star, has been with the Aces since 2012. It was with Alaska where he won his lone PBA championship so far in 2013.

Casio, however, did not have consistent playing time with the Aces the past few PBA seasons with the entry of much younger guards in Alaska’s lineup.

Ebona, on the other hand, will add size and strength to the Bossing’s frontline after strong showing in his first two years in the professional league with Alaska.

The Alaska-bound Tolomia, for his part, had a good conference with the Bossing last season with averages of 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

The move is just the latest of Vanguardia this offseason after the Bossing acquired three-point gunner Rashawn McCarthy from Terrafirma Dyip for Simon Enciso.

The Bossing is aiming to snap a league-record of 19 consecutive defeats after dropping all of its matches in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup in Bacolor, Pampanga./ASC, WDJ