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Abu Tratter is poised to add size to Converge’s already tall and promising frontcourt in Antipolo.
As the former La Salle big man joined the FiberXers on the bench during their PBA Philippine Cup game against Meralco Bolts on Thursday night, the 6-foot-5 Tratter finally got to see new frontcourt colleagues Jeo Ambohot and Justin Arana.
The 6-foot-7 Ambohot and 6-foot-5 Arana are joined in the frontline by 6-foot-7 sophomore Ben Adamos, who was a previous teammate at Alaska, according to Tratter.
“They’re strong and they’re willing to learn, that’s the best part. It’s hard to teach kids how to be open-minded. Coming to their rookie season, I think they’re doing well,” Tratter stated
In a 90 to 74 loss to the Bolts, Ambohot, the No. 3 overall pick in the previous draft, was the most active player for the FiberXers, putting up a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Tratter came to the country on Wednesday and reached an agreement with Converge after nearly three months of lengthy negotiations.
He was the last of the former Alaska players to join with the FiberXers, who had bought the Aces franchise outright.
Despite the loss, which dropped Converge to 1 to 3, Tratter believes the squad owned by Pampanga billionaire Dennis Uy has a lot of potential.
“It’s a young team and I can only imagine when I first started playing basketball in the PBA. There’s a lot to work on, but we have the factors there. I think the team is very young and we’re fairly new with each other. We have five new pieces in there so we have to get well,” he mentioned.
“It’s gonna take a while, but I’m very excited over the fact that there are some good pieces out there as well.”
Tratter will join Converge for practice in the following days, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for the team’s next game on June 22 against Terrafirma.
“I’m excited to have my first game but I just got here, so I’m trying to get my feet wet a little bit,” he said. “So, I’m not sure yet. It depends on a lot of factors. But you know, I would like to.”
Abu Tratter short bio
Abu Jahal Tratter (born January 9, 1993) is a Filipino American professional basketball player for the Philippine Basketball Association’s Converge FiberXers (PBA). De La Salle University was his college basketball team.
The Blackwater Elite selected Tratter seventh overall in the 2018 PBA draft. He was dealt to the Alaska Aces for Carl Bryan Cruz on September 6, 2019. He inked a contract with the Converge FiberXers, the new team that replaced the defunct Alaska Aces, on June 15, 2022.
With 68 games played in his career, Tratter has an average of 25 minutes per game, 6 rebounds per game, .9 assists per game, .6 steals per game, .3 blocks per game, and 9.8 points per game.
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