By JONAS TERRADO
Phoenix Super LPG agreed to part ways with Vic Manuel after just one conference by trading him to NorthPort in exchange for Sean Anthony as part of a deal involving two more players and a future draft pick.
Manuel and Michael Calisaan were sent to the Batang Pier for Anthony, Sean Manganti and a second round pick in next season’s draft in a deal approved yesterday by the PBA Commissioner’s Office.
The deal came after Phoenix acquired Manuel from Alaska last February and averaged 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 11 games during the recent Philippine Cup.
He will come back to the team that drafted him nine years ago when the then-GlobalPort Batang Pier selected him ninth overall.
But the Batang Pier eventually traded him to Meralco midway into the 2012-13 season, the first of many trades “The Muscleman” faced.
By getting Manuel, NorthPort had to bid goodbye to Anthony, who played his best seasons since being traded from NLEX in 2017.
In almost five seasons with the Batang Pier, Anthony became a reliable two-way player and was named to the Mythical First Team and won Defensive of the Year honors following the 2019 campaign.
Injuries, however, have limited Anthony’s appearances over the pandemic-marred 2020 and 2021 seasons, and played just eight games in the Philippine Cup with averages of 10.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals.
Calisaan is also leaving Phoenix after one conference that saw him produce 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in nine games.
Manganti didn’t see action for NorthPort in this year’s Philippine Cup. The sophomore forward out of Adamson registered 4.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 11 games in the 2020 season.
