Rabeh to NLEX in three-team deal

MANILA, Philippines - NLEX has acquired 6-foot-7 center Rabeh Al-Hussaini in a three-way trade deal that also involved Meralco and Blackwater.

The Road Warriors, mired in a seven-game slump from the Philippine Cup, tabbed Al-Hussaini while giving back to Blackwater its 2017 first-round draft rights.

Earlier, Blackwater got Al-Hussaini while yielding its 2018 second-round draft pick to Meralco.

Al-Hussaini saw action with the Bolts only in eight games in the last Philippine Cup. And he’s yet to play a single game in the current Commissioner’s Cup.

The former Ateneo Eagle, however, may get the playing time he longs for at NLEX, a team that is still in a period of adjustment under new coach Yeng Guiao.

Al-Hussaini played under Guiao in his rookie year with Air21 in 2010-11.

He was then the No. 2 draft pick behind Ateneo teammate Noy Baclao. It’s his best year in the PBA where he averaged 14.2 points a game.