KG Canaleta Taiwan-bound after signing with Taichung Wagor team

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

PBA veteran KG Canaleta will no longer stay in the Philippine basketball scene and is taking his talents to Taiwan.

After his last stint with the Blackwater Bossing team, the athletic swingman is set to join Taiwanese basketball team Taichung Wagor for the remainder of the 2021-22 T1 League season.

The management of Taichung announced the development and will be welcoming the 40-year-old forward once he debuts for them.

Canaleta will be teaming up with Gilas Pilipinas cadet Jordan Heading in Taichung and will be the team’s second Asian import.

“Although we already have excellent Asian Import in Jordan Heading, Niño KG Canaleta will also play an important role. We will be depending on the combinations and different rotations as the games go by,” said Taichung’s GM David Wan.

Taichung is currently in position for a playoff berth with an 11-8 win-loss record, the third-best record in the league.

Aside from Heading and Canaleta, Taichung also tapped the services of Aaron Geramipoor from Iran and was just on time before the league announced its deadline of overseas player acquisition.

Canaleta will leave the PBA with career averages of 9.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, .8 assists per game, .4 blocks per game in 21.6 minutes of action.

The former five-time PBA Slam-dunk contest champion wasn’t renewed by the Blackwater management and opted to go overseas after receiving no offers from other teams during the off-season.