by Dave Albarado
The End of an Era
The trade between San Miguel Beermen and Northport Batang Pier has sent shock waves in the PBA. For the fans, this is the most interesting trade this week, eclipsing the trade of Ginebra and Northport where the former shipped Art de la Cruz in exchange for Sidney Onwubere.
The trade between San Miguel and Northport sent fans, including this writer, to scratch our heads and to ask what the SMB management was thinking of. Look at the trade that sent Arwind Santos to Northport in exchange for Vic Manuel. Manuel just transferred from Alaska as the Alaska Aces acquired Sean Anthony in another eye-popping trade early last week.
Santos’ departure means that the fabled Death 5 squad has ended. The Death 5 is the SMB superteam composed of Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and 6-time Most Valuable Player Junemar Fajardo. The superteam delivered 8 championships including 6 straight All-Filipino Cup crowns.
As an SMB fan since 1987, I can’t help but ask why Santos was traded. It seems that in the SMB camp, loyalty means nothing. It beckons me that in the past Ramon S. Ang, SMB team owner, said that Santos is one player which the SMB will never trade.
The statement came after SMB became the first and only professional basketball team in the world to recover from a 0-3 deficit and still manage to win the title. I can still remember the clutch treys of Santos in Game 4 of the 2015 All-Filipino finals against Alaska which was led by Calvin Abueva.
But the trade, reminded me of the times San Miguel traded its superstars who are in the twilight of their careers. I remember Abet Guidaben getting traded for Mon Fernandez. The trade involving Ato Agustin, Allan Caidic, Nelson Asaytono, and the list goes on. These players were traded by SMB at the twilight of their careers. It is deja vú all over again as SMB traded its prized star who is already in his 40s. Santos served SMB for 12 years and he sacrificed personal glory in order to win championships. He is a ball dominant player but he relented when Junemar arrived at SMB. With Junemar as the anchor of the offense, Arwind normally patrolled the top of the key or beyond the three-point arc and wait for kick-out passes in case Junemar gets double teams down at the post.
Vic Manuel, on the other hand, is an inside operator and will only make the inside crowded for Junemar. Vic is not a known 3 point shooter. He may be the one who will be relieving June Mar. As it stands, Junemar will be at center with Moala Tautuaa at power forward, Marcio Lassiter in the other forward spot, Chris Ross and CJ Perez in the guard spots. Now, where is Terrence Romeo in the picture? Terrence could be shipped to Northport in exchange for Robert Bolick, as Romeo will ultimately land at Ginebra, but coach Tim Cone will not allow Scottie Thompson to leave the Gin Kings’ camp. The next epic trade may have to wait.