Fil-Am Hatfield joins Tanduay

After acquiring Jeffrey Cariaso from Mobiline through a trade, Tanduay Rhum recruited MBA Fil-Am ace Rudy Hatfield to strengthen further its lineup for the coming 26th PBA season.

Hatfield, who has joined the Rhum Masters in their daily workouts, will sign his contract with the team anytime this week, according to Tanduay team manager David de Joya.

De Joya said the team is upbeat in their campaign this year, hopeful they can make a better showing as they finally got players who could provide big help at the wings -- the team's weak spot last year.

De Joya said the team management is also confident its problem regarding the cases of Cariaso and Sonny Alvarado will be over in the next few days. Cariaso is facing a charge of falsification of documents from the Department of Justice while Alvarado has yet to get a certification of recognition from the Bureau of Immigration.

After enlisting Cariaso and Hatfield, De Joya said they decided to give up their bid in getting Marlou Aquino from Sta. Lucia Realty.

Now in hot pursuit of Aquino is Red Bull.

Red Bull team manager George Chua was to meet Aquino last night. Coach Yeng Guiao isn't ruling out a Red Bull offer sheet to the 6-foot-9 behemoth.

Keen on making Aquino their main man as they make their debut in the PBA this year, Red Bull officials said they are open to a trade involving any of their players.

However, Sta. Lucia officials appear unwilling to trade Aquino although they haven't heard from the player for over a week now.