PBA Trade Target Suggestion for Phoenix, Meralco: Is Alaska's Manuel a good fit with Phoenix?

Even though perennial contenders Ginebra and TNT ended up at the finals. It was still a good thing for our dream of having a league with parity, that two rising teams managed to reach the semifinals.

In this edition of our team review, we will check the numbers of Meralco and Phoenix and decipher the right type of player that they should target.

Meralco Bolts

There is nothing special about Meralco if you look at the numbers. They are 9th in scoring, 9th in three-point scoring and 7th in inside scoring. Their defense was above average but nothing special. 

What made it clear is that Raymond Almazan should be healthy. With Almazan on the floor, it sharpens the defensive ability of a lot of their athletic and aggressive wings like Bong Quinto, Trevor Jackson, Chris Newsome and John Pinto. 

Also, it is not good that they are still relying a lot on a very old Reynel Hugnatan. Tito Reynel averaged 27.4 minutes per game this season.

So, it is clear that what they need is bigman. Combining that with their numbers, they need someone who will help them a lot on the offensive end. 

The name, Greg Slaughter is a popular one and he is a perfect fit for the Bolts. With his size and good passing vision, it is good for a team that lacks three-point shooting.

Phoenix Super LPG

Phoenix is easy to read. They win games using their three-point shooting, versatility and hustle on defense (specifically rebounding) and elite playmakers in Calvin Abueva and Matthew Wright.

They ended up as #2 in scoring, #2 in three-point efficiency, #1 in three-point efficiency and #6 in rebounding. Phoenix was basically the ultimate modern team this year in the PBA.

Their elite three-point shooting was pumped by elite productions of Jason Perkins and Justin Chua. The main frontline of Phoenix is shooting above 40% from beyond the arc and making almost four long bombs per game.

There are rumors that Alaska and Phoenix talked in the past about Vic Manuel. I am not a fan of the fit because Vic and Abueva do not help in spacing the floor. 

What Phoenix should look for is an in-prime bigman who is above average on defense and capable of hitting three-point shots.

The supply of that type of player is not that much. Rain or Shine is the team that they can try to transact with because they have Jewel Ponferada and Mark Borboran. Two veterans that will not cost them that much but will surely raise their ceiling as a team.