Playoff teams to finalize rosters today

MANILA, Philippines — Eight teams will finalize their 15-man rosters for the Philippine Cup playoffs by noon today and once submitted to the PBA office, lineups can no longer be changed with the quarterfinals set to start Wednesday.

The trade deadline fell last June 2 so if ever teams will add players, they can only dip into the pool of unrestricted free agents with or without right to salary. Playoff contenders TNT, Converge and Magnolia beat the trade deadline to make significant changes on their rosters with the Tropang 5G acquiring Jordan Heading, Converge picking up the rights to Mikey Williams and Magnolia reeling in William Navarro. For Williams to be on Converge’s roster, his Uniform Player Contract must be turned in by noon today. Otherwise, he can’t be included on the FiberXers’ playoff lineup.

There are 14 players listed as unrestricted free agents with right to salary, meaning they can be signed by another team and their existing contracts are declared void. The players, however, may choose to stay with their current teams. Unless they’re listed on the playoff roster, they won’t be eligible for activation even if their team loses a player through injury. Once submitted, a playoff roster is final and no additions or replacements may be made.

The 14 players classified as unrestricted free agents with right to salary are Ginebra’s LA Tenorio, Paul Garcia and Dave Murrell, Blackwater’s Kib Montalbo, Converge’s Pao Javillonar, Inand Fornilos and Patrick Maagdenberg, Meralco’s Kyle Pascual, NLEX’ Jake Pascual, Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga and TNT’s Jayson Castro, Jielo Razon, Chris Exciminiano and Calvin Payawal. Tenorio was placed on the list to focus on his job as Philippine Youth head coach at the recent SEABA U16 Championships. A source said Ginebra coach Tim Cone will decide whether or not to include Tenorio on the playoff roster by noon today.

A prized catch among the unrestricted free agents with right to salary is Montalbo, TNT’s first round pick in 2019, a two-time PBA champion and a former Gilas player. Montalbo, 29, has two years left on his Blackwater contract but is an unrestricted free agent with right to salary.