Pardo denies Pingris trade rumors

MANILA, Philippines -- Star Hotshots governor Rene Pardo denied rumors that veteran forward Marc Pingris is on the trading block following his decision to rejoin Gilas Pilipinas on Wednesday’s practice at the Gatorade Hoops Center.

Pardo said he doesn’t see any reason why the Hotshots would trade the 6-foot-5 Pingris, whose strong defensive presence helped the Purefoods franchise win five championships, including a grand slam in the last three years.

“Marc has stopped practicing with us because he started joining Gilas, but there’s no truth to that (trade rumors on Pingris),” Pardo told Philstar.com.

The amiable Star executive said before joining Gilas, he has actually advised the 33-year-old energetic Hotshots forward to stop reading tweets or online feeds.

“Siguro ang dami niyang nababasa sa online, eh sabi ko naman sa kanya na huwag na siya magbasa ng mga ganun,” he added.

Pardo explained that Pingris can serve as rookie big man Norbert Torres’ ‘big brother’ on the team as the former La Salle center begins integrating himself into rookie coach Jason Webb’s system.

The Star governor, who attended the team’s Tuesday workout, said he actually likes the fact that Torres has a decent shooting touch for his size.

“I like what I saw. In fact, sabi ko kay Cap (Alvin Patrimonio), na turuan niya din. Pagtiyagaan lang, may kamay sa labas for his size and definitely, he can spread the floor dahil may shooting siya at makakatulong sa team talaga,” he added.

For the moment, Torres has yet to ink a pact with Star, though Pardo said the wide-bodied big man, selected eighth overall in the draft, will get a decent contract soon.