By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Miguel Corteza is fulfilling his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) dream after being signed to a one-year rookie contract by the Blackwater Bossing.

The Negros Occidental’s Silay City-native Corteza was accompanied by his agent, Ace Ong, when he signed his contract with the Bossing recently.

The 6-foot-3 Corteza was selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the second round of the PBA Season 49 Rookie Draft earlier this month.

However, the Painters quickly traded Corteza to the Bossing in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.

Corteza was a former standout of the Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts before he was recruited to De La Salle University Green Archers for college.

The Negrense cager transferred to the College of St. Benilde Blazers, where he blossomed as one of their key players under head coach Charles Tiu.

Corteza is the fourth Negrense player on the Bossing roster aside from Escalante City-native James Yap, and Bacolodnons Kib Montalbo and Justin Chua.

Aside from Corteza, also signed to rookie deals by the Bossing were no. 2 overall pick Sedrick Barefield and D.J. Mitchell.

Barefield agreed to a two-year contract with the Bossing with a player’s option in his sophomore year.

On the other hand, Mitchell opted for a one-year contract with the Bossing despite being offered a two-year deal by the management./ASC, WDJ