PBA trade

Phoenix ready to roll after series of trades

Delfin Dioquino

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Phoenix ready to roll after series of trades

NOT BACKING DOWN. Topex Robinson says Phoenix will compete 'no matter who we have.'

Photo from PBA Images

Topex Robinson says the string of trades that Phoenix pulled off recently will give the team a 'better chance' in the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup

After a string of offseason moves, Phoenix is ready to roll.

Head coach Topex Robinson said the series of deals Phoenix pulled off recently that started with the Calvin Abueva trade will give the team a “better chance” at competing in the upcoming Philippine Cup.

Phoenix stunned PBA fans after shipping Abueva and its 10th overall pick in the March 14 draft to Magnolia in exchange for Chris Banchero, the 6th pick, and the 18th pick.

The trade came as a surprise considering Phoenix almost reached the PBA finals for the first time in franchise history in the previous All-Filipino conference with Abueva back on board from his indefinite suspension.

But Phoenix immediately beefed up its frontcourt by acquiring Vic Manuel from Alaska after letting go of its 6th and 16th picks in the upcoming draft and its first-round pick in the draft next year.

Phoenix also received the 7th and 19th picks of Alaska in the Manuel deal.

“Yes, we lost Calvin who is an absolute game changer, but having Banchero and Manuel and a potential player on the 7th will give us a better chance this coming conference,” Robinson told Rappler.

Robinson is expected to ease the transition for Banchero and Manuel now that they are with Phoenix as he coached both players back when he served as an assistant coach for Alaska.

Manuel particularly goes a long way back with Robinson, with the 46-year-old tactician mentoring the bruising forward in the PBA D League.

“We are happy to have Vic on our team,” Robinson said. “He is a proven winner and I’m sure he will be a big boost for us.”

Although powerhouse PBA teams like San Miguel, Magnolia, and TNT have also bolstered their rosters with their own offseason moves, Robinson said Phoenix will not back down from a fight.

“We will always compete no matter who we have,” Robinson said.

“It is just a blessing that you’re going to battle with the players that we have right now.” – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.