Air21 releases Pingris, Billones

After giving up draft picks Anthony Washington and Marc Cardona, Air21 (formerly FedEx) is now unloading Marc Pingris and Egay Billones to get rid of excess players that would mean extra expenses for the team in the coming PBA wars.

If approved by the San Miguel Corp. management, Purefoods will acquire Pingris and Billones from Air21 in exchange for a future draft pick.

Air21 coach Bo Perasol and Purefoods counterpart Ryan Gregorio, who used to play together for University of the Philippines in the UAAP, gave their nod on the deal yesterday.

The Air21 management and coaching staff want to complete their lineup before going on a team buildup session this weekend somewhere in Batangas. At the moment, the team has 14 players in its fold.

"We love Ping (Pingris) in our team but he’s the only player sought by the other teams," said a team insider.

"In the end, we decided to unload him because in the first place, this is an import-laced tourney and we couldn’t give him playing time in our front court rotation. Secondly, we couldn’t put him to three-spot since he has a limited shooting range unlike Ranidel (De Ocampo)," the team insider added.

However, Air21 wants Billones to be in a trade package with Pingris.

Minus Billones, Air21 could have easily sealed the deal with Purefoods right away.