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Four players will be suiting up for different teams in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup following a trade between Burger King and Coca-Cola Sunday night.

The BK Whoppers traded high-leaping Gary David and point-guard Chico Lanete for veteran playmaker Alex Cabagnot and wingman Wesley Gonzales.

The 6-2 David will be reunited with former Air21 mentor Bo Perasol who took over as Tigers coach last month.

“We need to make some changes to make us better,” said Perasol.

Aside from rejoining Perasol, David, 31, will return to the same PBA ball club that picked him 10th overall during the 2004 Rookie Draft.

After one season, the Tigers traded David to the Air21 Express in the middle of the 2005 season.

The 5-10 Lanete, on the other hand, will be playing for his third team after stints with Purefoods TJ Hotdogs and Barangay Ginebra.

Cabagnot’s entry will boost Burger King’s backcourt vacated by Wynne Arboleda who is serving a one-season suspension for mauling a fan last October.

The 5-11 Fil-American started his career with Sta. Lucia before being dealt to Coke for Joseph Yeo.

Gonzales will return to the franchise that took him No. 9 overall in 2004 Draft.

The Whoppers and the Tigers are fighting for playoff spots, with Burger King holding a 5-10 win-loss record and Coke carrying a three-win, 12-loss card, just a game ahead of Barako Bull (2-12) for the last spot in the wildcard.

BK’s Lito Alvarez, the current PBA board chairman, said that parting ways with David was a tough decision to make but having a veteran playmaker in Cabagnot and a role player like Gonzales will make their team better.

“Siyempre mabigat na decision ‘yun, matagal na naming player si Gary e,” Alvarez said.

It was the third trade that BK got involved since the off-season when it sent franchise player Arwind Santos to San Miguel Beer and then to end a dispute, dealt top draft pick Japeth Aguilar to Talk ’N Text.

The 6-foot-10 Aguilar is now with the Smart-Gilas national team.

David, a former Lyceum Pirate who won the PBA Sportsmanship, Defensive Player, Most Improved and named to the Mythical First Team in 2006-07, averages almost 15 points a game, while Cabagnot norms 13 points and six assists this conference.

Source: Waylon Galvez  | Manila Bulletin