LOYALTY SWAP | THE "LOPSIDED" KEMARK CARINO FOR BEN ADAMOS DEAL

So I haven’t written anything about the Converge–NLEX–Meralco trade because I was waiting for it to become official on the PBA website.

Anyway, I might write about it in my next blog.

That said, this Ginebra-Terrafirma trade is awesome because of its absurdity. Seeing that Converge had the lopsided Calvin Abueva trade and the recent deal, I really thought SMC would find a way to “level the playing field.”

And level it did when Ginebra sent Ben Adamos to Terrafirma for Kemark Cariño.

The thing about the trade is that Ginebra is sending a healthy player to Terrafirma for a guy who has yet to play 35 games in two and a half seasons.

However, when Cariño is healthy, he’s good.

He’s around 6'9", he just turned 28 this year, and he could have been a great complement to Geo Chiu.

Meanwhile, I thought leaving college with a year of eligibility left would be good for Ben Adamos’ pro stock, but apart from being selected sixth overall in the 2021 PBA Draft, the 30-year-old hasn’t found his break.

When he was picked sixth, I thought Adamos had found the right team to take his career to greater heights. The players selected before him—Joshua Munzon, Jamie Malonzo, Calvin Oftana, Mikey Williams, and Santi Santillan—are either Mythical Team members, All-Stars, or starters. Even players picked after him, like Jerrick Ahanmisi and third-rounder RK Ilagan, have made significant waves. Adamos averaged 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in almost 16 minutes for Alaska, but that’s about it.

Adamos eventually made his way to Ginebra in a trade that also involved NorthPort and Sidney Onwubere because of the team’s lack of frontline depth after sending Christian Standhardinger to Terrafirma in a deal that also included Isaac Go, who has yet to see significant action for the Gins due to injury issues. It’s not like he wasn’t given a chance to succeed. The teams he played for could have provided him with a platform to break out.

Adamos could have had his big break in NLEX, similar to the first-time All-Star JB Bahio right now. The same can be said for NorthPort, where Onwubere got significant playing time after his benchwarming days in Ginebra. He could have also seen extended minutes when Go was injured, and the team needed someone to man the big man spot, which unfortunately went to Norbert Torres. It felt like all the dominance he showed in college disappeared in the pros, which makes this trade look lopsided.

Maybe it’s because he has seen action for six teams in five seasons, which is why his game never got going. Adamos went from team to team as a project with a high chance of becoming a useful talent. However, he languished on the sidelines. In the last Philippine Cup, he played in just four of Ginebra’s 19 games and averaged only 1.5 points and 0.5 rebounds.

This is why people see the trade as lopsided.

Cariño could be in line for something good with the Gins if he manages to stay healthy. He was one of the names floated as part of the Gilas Pilipinas cadet program back in 2015, but was too young to apply in the 2016 PBA Draft. After spending some time with San Beda, Cariño went overseas and saw action with Aomori Wat’s, a Division II B.League squad. In 25 games, he averaged 1.9 points and 1.8 rebounds. His numbers weren’t enough to earn another B.League contract, which is probably why he fell to the second round of the 2023 PBA Draft.

Still, having that size and promise makes you think Tim Cone will give him every opportunity, as long as he stays healthy. Again, Ginebra’s problem is its frontline. Considering the Commissioner’s Cup is filled with imports listed at 6'10" and above, there’s a need for a body to throw against the hired guns, especially since Ginebra is sticking to its tried-and-tested formula of having a small forward like Justin Brownlee.

If you look at the numbers, Cariño is also a better scorer and rebounder than Go and Torres. Sure, Go has limitless range, but Cariño has a career 45 percent field goal clip compared to Go’s nearly 40 percent. As for Torres, he can still get quality minutes as a sub for either Japeth Aguilar or Troy Rosario, especially since Cariño and Go have combined for just 75 career games.

Cariño is definitely a big upgrade over what Adamos brought to Ginebra. But will his stint with Terrafirma do wonders for Adamos?

I’m not really sure what to think.

Terrafirma’s import, Mubashar Ali, is listed at seven feet and will likely man the frontline with Geo Chiu, Louie Sangalang, JM Bravo, and second-round pick Shawn Umali.

The good thing about moving to Terrafirma is that the team needed size in the Philippine Cup. The Dyip were so small and shallow that Aljon Mariano had to play power forward after spending most of his career as a small forward. That said, Adamos needs to give Terrafirma coach Ronald Tubid a reason to use him, as he’s also competing for minutes with Chiu, the top pick fresh from his stint with the Abra Weavers, and Umali, who is coming off NCAA Season 101 with averages of 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game.

Let’s also not discount Bravo, who played the undersized power forward role well for Terrafirma and is considered one of the top rookies of the season. The edge Adamos may have over Bravo and Umali is his size and experience, but his talent has been untapped for so long that it might take something close to a miracle for him to rediscover it with the farm team.

Like any trade, this swap may look lopsided on paper, but only five players can be on the court at a time. Ginebra still has Japeth Aguilar and Troy Rosario. They also have a deep cast of players who can limit another player’s chances to shine.

Terrafirma has the personnel, but the opportunity is there for someone to seize it.

Maybe this is the break Ben Adamos has been looking for. Terrafirma may be a farm team, but they have pulled off a BUNCH of savvy moves in their trades with Ginebra. One deal resulted in Paolo Hernandez. The RJ Abarrientos swap wasn’t bad either, with Mark Nonoy putting up good numbers for the Dyip.

There was also the trade that sent the rights to Jeremiah Gray for Javi Gomez de Liano. Yes, they eventually flipped Javi to Magnolia, but Terrafirma also acquired Jerrick Ahanmisi and the rights to Umali in the process. Most recently, they traded their 2027 first-round pick to Ginebra to complete the Maverick Ahanmisi deal, which also brought in Mariano. The UST forward is finally getting his break, and the same can probably be said for Maverick now that he’s playing alongside his brother and getting the minutes he might earn.

So will Adamos finally get his chance with Terrafirma? Let’s wait and see.