Kasabay nito,ipinalit din ng Express sa Phone Pals si Patrick Fran para kay Leo Avenido.
Kinumpirma ni Air21 Express team manager at president Lito alvarez ang deal na ito sa Phone Pals at sinabing kapwa mag-bebenipisyo ang dala-wang team sa naturang trade.
Bagamat malaki ang kon-tribusyon ni Ritualo, kinaila-ngan gawin ito ng Express dahil sa magkaibang set ng sistema at pilosopiya may-roon ang dalawang koponan. "We have an abundance of scorers from the team and with the looming return of Gary David from sick bay, that dilemma will even be more pronounced," ani Alvarez. "Ren-ren will be better utilized at TNT, more so now after the Phone Pals traded Willie Miller (to Alaska). Bibigyan namin ng chance si Gary (David) to shine in Ritualo’s former spot, instead of having the two fight for the same minutes."