Seeing the talent-laden PBA Draft prompted Terrafirma to pull the trigger on the trade that will send star player CJ Perez to San Miguel, team governor Bobby Rosales said.

Aside from Russel Escoto, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, and Gelo Alolino, Terrafirma will also get the No. 8 pick from San Miguel in the upcoming draft that drew a record 97 applicants.

“I think everybody agrees that the forthcoming draft will be rich in talent. We looked at it that we can get the missing pieces that we can get in this coming draft,” Rosales told Rappler.

“By getting another first-round pick, I think we’ll be able to get that better part of that rich-talent pool.”

For the fourth straight year, Terrafirma will pick first, but it will not have a second-round selection after including it in a previous trade.

After drafting the No. 1 and No. 8 picks, Terrafirma will have to wait until the third round for its No. 25 pick.

Among the top prospects in the draft include Joshua Munzon, Jamie Malonzo, Calvin Oftana, Alvin Pasaol, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Larry Muyang.

“The second-round pick is equally important as the first-round pick,” Rosales said.

“We studied the lineup of teams, we saw that we may be able to use some of the players from San Miguel, if we will come to terms.”

Rosales said it is a “fair trade” for both teams.

If the trade pushes through, San Miguel will acquire another top pick in the form of Perez from Terrafirma.

Terrafirma dealt its No. 1 pick in 2017 to San Miguel for Ronald Tubid, Jay-R Reyes, Rashawn McCarthy, and a first-round pick in 2019.

San Miguel used the No. 1 pick to draft Christian Standhardinger.

Despite an abundance of top picks, Terrafirma has struggled to find success in the PBA, having not reached the playoffs since 2016.

Last season, Terrafirma finished tied with NorthPort at last place after compiling a 1-10 record.

Since its last playoff appearance in the 2016 Governors’ Cup, Terrafirma has compiled a 24-86 win-loss record for a lowly winning percentage of .218. – Rappler.com