PBA Transactions: Ginebra got Jared Dillinger for free

(c) PBA Media Bureau

In a shocking twist of fate, Jared Dillinger signed with Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel after Meralco Bolts relegated him to the free agency. 

It is a shock because Jared was the one who said that their finals encounter against Ginebra in the 2017 PBA Governors' Cup was personal. He even said that it was his dream to get a chance of revenge against Ginebra during that time.


Now, all those talks may all have been hype as Jared decided to join them. Maybe, he is just following an old popular saying that says, "when you cannot beat them, join them."

The signing though was controversial because according to Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo said that Jared made a gentleman's agreement of not signing with another team, or simply informing Meralco about an offer for them to at least match, once he was sent to unrestricted free agency (UFA). He was sent to the UFA because of his quad injury that will keep him on the sideline for two months and to give room for Raymond Almazan.

Although, I expect the ego of the MVP management to be affected if what manager Trillo said about Jared telling them that they never gave him an offer that he cannot refuse. Which basically means, Ginebra gave him an offer much higher than what Meralco gave. 

Nonetheless, losing Jared should not affect the performance of Meralco in the court that much.

Why?

In the past four conferences, Jared missed 28 total elimination games. Actually, he missed two full conferences out of those four! He is more of a good name now than a good usable player.

In short, Ginebra got another injury-prone forward, just like Art Dela Cruz. The difference between the two though is their age. Jared is already 35. Art is only 27.