IN A SHOCKING turn of events, San Miguel Beer veteran forward Arwind Santos was traded to NorthPort’s re-acquisition Vic Manuel on Monday as teams continue to fortify their rosters for the import-laden Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.
Neither Santos, called the “Spiderman” for his long-armed and long-legged 6-foot-4 physique, nor Manuel, dubbed the “Muscle Man” for his burly also 6-foot-4 frame, replied to BusinessMirror’s messages or returned calls.
“What can I say? It’s a management call. It’s part of the players’ life that he might transfer from one team to another without even knowing it,” said Danny Espiritu, both players’ agent. “That’s the right of the teams, so we have to move on and after this, let’s wait on what’s next in the careers of these players.”
Their coaches—San Miguel Beer’s Leo Austria and NorthPort’s Pido Jarencio—were also silent on the trade.
Santos, 40, played for 11 years with San Miguel Beer and won nine PBA championships including two missed grand slams in the 2017 and 2019. He was drafted second overall by the Air21 Express in 2006 before being sent to San Miguel Beer in a trade in 2009.
Santos has career averages of 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14 seasons. In the last Philippine Cup, the former Far Eastern University standout averaged 12.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 blocks in 13 games.
Manuel, on the other hand, averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in nine years capped by a breakthrough season with Alaska in the 2017 season when he averaged 16 points. In the last conference, Manuel tallied 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in his brief stint with the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
The 34-year-old Manuel was surprised with the trade which was dealt only 48 hours after he was traded by Phoenix to NorthPort with Michael Calisaan for Sean Anthony and Sean Manganti.