LOYALTY SWAP | TERRAFIRMA TRADES JAVI GOMEZ DE LIANO TO MAGNOLIA

I’ve been extremely busy lately, but I had to say something about this.

Terrafirma… ugh.

The trade that sent Javi Gomez de Liano to the Magnolia Hotshots has been bugging me, especially since the Magnolia part of the second round was already confusing enough. I thought Rain or Shine owns Magnolia's pick?

Maybe I'm just imagining things?

I still don’t know what exactly they gave up to Rain or Shine, and with this development, it feels like we’re just throwing another second-round pick into the Terrafirma abyss. The problem? This time, it came in the form of Javi GDL.

Now, let’s be real—he’s not exactly a game-changer for Terrafirma. But Javi is a name, and at this point, that’s about as good as it gets for them. His stint with Anyang KGC in the KBL wasn’t a total wash either—54 games, 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds. Respectable numbers, but also a reminder that he’s no Rhenz Abando, who became a beloved human highlight reel in Anyang.

That tells me one thing: Javi just wasn’t the right fit for their system.

As a combo forward, he’s more Arvin Tolentino or Will Navarro than Abando. Funny enough, those are the exact types Magnolia is losing. Tolentino was once rumored to be bound for the Hotshots before choosing the B.League, and Navarro’s already KBL-bound. So really, Javi is just a straight-up replacement for what they’re missing.

The other piece of the trade, Jerrick Ahanmisi, also makes sense when you zoom out. Magnolia already struck gold with Jerom Lastimosa and rookie free agent Peter Alfaro. Ahanmisi may have been their four-point machine, but between Paul Lee, Lastimosa, and Alfaro, they have enough shooting. What Alfaro gives them, though, is defense—something Ahanmisi never truly brought to the table. To me, Ahanmisi has always been an offense-heavy version of Justin Melton. That said, I do question if he and Mark Nonoy can actually form a cohesive backcourt. Both are shot-happy guards, and while Nonoy is the better defender, the chemistry just doesn’t look right.

Then there’s the elephant in the room: DJ Fenner. His draft status is up in the air due to papers—or maybe because Terrafirma just has nothing to offer him beyond the standard rookie salary. Honestly, if Fenner skips, I’d rather see them take a young piece like Geo Chiu than someone like Jason Brickman. Terrafirma already has Louie Sangalang and Kemark Carino, but what a potential buyer would want is a young core, not a veteran nearing retirement.

And yes, I’ve been saying this for a while—I think Terrafirma is just a couple of conferences away from leaving the PBA. If the league wants a buyer, they need assets, not endless fire sales. We’ve all seen what happens when MPBL teams jump in: enthusiasm at first, then disinterest when the results don’t come. The PBA deserves better.

So, no, I’m not shocked about Javi Gomez de Liano coming home to the PBA. If international leagues don’t suit him, then why not? A San Miguel Corporation contract, with all the perks and bonuses, will always be appealing. It just sucks that in what’s supposed to be the league’s golden season, the headlines aren’t about the product on the floor. Instead, we’re stuck talking about talent drain to overseas leagues, an uneven playing field, and the league still refusing to realize they’re better off playing weekday games in the provinces than in half-empty city arenas.

At this point, I just want some rich kid with a truckload of money to swoop in and buy Terrafirma. If there are any more Delta Pineda-types out there—guys willing to treat the PBA like their personal passion project instead of a corporate side hustle—then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess. The league needs owners who want to win, not just hold on to a slot for the perks.