GARCIA – JENSEN TRADE OK’D
The Office of the Commissioner approved Tuesday a one-on-one trade that moved rookie court general RR Garcia of GlobalPort to Barako Bull in exchange for sophomore frontliner Keith Jensen.
The swap marks the breakup of the Garcia – Terrence Romeo backcourt tandem, which first gave opposing teams the fits while playing for the FEU Tamaraws in college. They were then both drafted by the Batang Pier in the 2013 PBA Draft.
Garcia is expected to be the new main man at the point for the Energy, splitting time with Jeric Fortuna. His youth, court smarts and good eye from long range will come in very handy for coach Siot Tanquingcen, who can now move guys like Willie Miller, Bonbon Custodio and Denok Miranda to the 2 guard spot.
Drafted 6th overall last year, Garcia wound up his GlobalPort stint with averages of 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
For his part, the fix-foot-five Jensen injects young blood into the aging GlobalPort frontcourt that counts Jay Washington, Eric Menk and Yancy de Ocampo.
Picked 8th overall by Barangay Ginebra in the 2012 PBA Draft, Jensen’s game has steadily improved in his second season as a pro. From logging 3.1 points per game in his rookie year, Jensen upped his norm to 6.0 ppg on 38 percent shooting from three-point region, aside from pulling down 1.9 rebounds and issuing 1.0 feeds a game.
The 26-year-old Jensen can play both forward positions and contribute right away for coach Pido Jarencio. (JL)
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