By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Rey Mark Belo will have a chance to revive his PBA career after he was shipped to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters from Meralco Bolts in a one-on-one trade deal.

In a trade deal that was approved by the PBA Commissioner’s Office on Thursday, May 18, the 30-year-old Belo moved to the Painters in exchange for center Norbert Torres, who is now with the Bolts.

Belo, who has roots from Capiz province’s Roxas City, is hoping to make a PBA return after taking a leave of absence from the Bolts in the just-concluded 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup.

He has not seen much action since being moved to the Bolts from Blackwater Bossing two years ago, as he only played for 42 games in five conferences.

At the Painters, the former Far Eastern University Tamaraws will also be an added scoring option for head coach Yeng Guiao, aside from Negrense James Yap, Rey Nambatac and Gian Mamuyac.

On the other hand, Torres will add size to the Bolts frontline following the recent retirement of Reynel Hugnatan, who is set to join the coaching staff of new Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo.

Torres, a former De La Salle University Green Archers big man, will also provide front court offense for the Bolts with his ability to shoot from outside.

He played for five seasons with the Painters but his minutes began to drop last conference as he averaged 6.6 points on 50-percent shooting and 1.7 rebounds in nine games.

The Painters were reportedly forced to move Torres out of the squad as they were preparing to select centers in the upcoming PBA Rookie Draft later this year.

This was the second trade entered by the Painters this offseason after sending forward Mike Nieto to Converge FiberXers in exchange for future draft picks./ASC, WDJ