Tiger again: Sta. Lucia’s Espino goes to Coca-Cola

Dennis Espino, a Sta. Lucia Realtor throughout his Philippine Basketball Association career, is now headed to his second team in 14 seasons of playing in the pro league. The former University of Santo Tomas stalwart would become a “Tiger" again after the Realtors agreed to ship the veteran to the Coca-Cola Tigers in exchange for Jason Misolas and a future first-round pick. “Konting ayos na lang…but we have already agreed in principle with Sta. Lucia," Coca-Cola assistant coach Bo Perasol told GMANews.TV. At Coca-Cola, the 35-year-old Espino would find himself manning the fort with another veteran big man, Asi Taulava. Supporting them would be promising third-year pro Ken Bono and hardworking Larry Rodriguez. By adding another experienced player, Perasol knows they have to work double time to making sure their frontliners are in tip-top condition for the Tigers’ running game. “Nasa sa kanila naman yan on how they can live up to our team’s new philosophy, which is to run more," said Perasol. “Kailangan talagang magpa-kundisyon sila. Our idea is to have both Asi and Dennis together at the same time dahil sayang naman yung talent nila kung magpapalitan lang sila," said Perasol. Sta. Lucia has surprisingly unloaded one key player after another the past few days. The Realtors have earlier traded guard Dennis Miranda to San Miguel Beer where he was reunited with former Far Eastern University teammate Arwind Santos. The Realtors are reportedly set to unload another key player in the coming days. - GMANews.TV