By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolodnon center Justin Chua is on the move anew after he was traded by the TNT Tropang Giga to the Blackwater Bossing as part of a three-team blockbuster trade on Monday, February 26.

The 6-foot-6 Chua, along with reserve guard Frederick Tungcab and a future first-round pick, was shipped by the Tropang Giga to the Bossing in exchange for Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.

Ganuelas-Rosser was earlier acquired by the Bossing from the NLEX Road Warriors in exchange for Renato Ular, Yousef Taha and a future first-round pick.

The Bossing is Chua’s eighth team in the PBA after his stints with GlobalPort Batang Pier, the San Miguel Beermen, Barako Bull Energy, the Meralco Bolts, the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, and the Road Warriors.

Curiously, Chua will still not be serviceable for the Bossing in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup as he is still recovering from an ACL tear he sustained during the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup finals.

However, Chua will provide much-needed offense in the center position for the Bossing once he fully recovers from his knee injury, provided that they keep him for the long run.

The 34-year-old Chua will be the second Western Visayas-based player on the Bossing’s roster, aside from Negros Occidental’s Escalante City-native guard James Yap.

Chua, a former standout of Trinity Christian School in Bacolod City, is a two-time PBA champion and five-time UAAP titlist with the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles.

This is the third trade of the Bossing in the offseason after previously acquiring Rey Nambatac from Rain or Shine Elasto Painters for future draft picks.

The Bossing, under head coach Jeffrey Cariaso, are aiming to bounce back from a last-place finish in the 2023-2024 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, where they won only one of their 11 matches./ASC, WDJ