TNT Tropang Giga bolstered its lineup with the signing of unrestricted free agent Mike Nieto

The TNT Tropang Giga has significantly strengthened its squad ahead of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup by acquiring guard Mike Nieto, who was released by the Converge FiberXers on Tuesday, June 3.

Tropang Giga signed Nieto as an unrestricted free agent after negotiations to acquire him through a package deal involving Mikey Williams and Jordan Heading fell through. TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa confirmed Nieto’s signing and acknowledged that he is the kind of player the franchise needs as they aim for their first-ever Grand Slam.

“Yes, he was part of the deal, but since he is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA), it just turned out we picked him up from Converge. He will be an additional floor spacer and is a good team and culture guy—just the kind of player we need to complement our main players,” Lastimosa said in a media interaction.

Unfortunate news for Rain or Shine as rookie guard Felix Lemetti is out for the conference after suffering a hand fracture in practice on a rebound play involving Shaun Ildefonso.

Meanwhile, Tnt continues to reinforce its backcourt by signing Mike Nieto to a free agent deal.

— PBA insider 🏀 (@PBAinsider) June 3, 2025

The Converge FiberXers acquired Nieto from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in May 2023 in exchange for second-round picks in the 2024 and 2025 PBA Drafts. He established himself as a key contributor for Converge under both Aldin Ayo and Charles Tiu. However, he did not play in the ongoing Philippine Cup after dislocating his finger.

Nieto, for his part, expressed gratitude to Converge for helping him grow his game while vowing to give his all to his new team.

“I really learned a lot in Converge. I’ll forever cherish the time I had there, and I’m truly grateful for all the support from Boss Dennis Uy, Governor Delta Pineda, Governor Archen Cayabyab, Boss Frank, and Boss Jacob Lao,” Nieto said.

“I’m very thankful for this opportunity to play for TNT this conference. I’ll do everything I can to repay the trust they’ve given me. I’m really excited, and we promise to give our best in every practice and every game to contribute to TNT in a positive way,” he added.

The Tropang Giga has had a mixed run in the Philippine Cup, winning five of their eight games and currently sitting in fifth place in the standings.

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