San Miguel ships Arwind Santos to NorthPort for Vic Manuel

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Arwind Santos will no longer wear the red and white jersey embroidered with the San Miguel Corporation logo in the next PBA conference.

After a disappointing finish during the recently concluded 2021 PBA Philippine Cup, the San Miguel Beermen pulled off one of the biggest trade shockers of the year after deciding to part ways with Arwind Santos.

In exchange, the Beermen will receive another star forward in Vic Manuel, two days after he was traded by the Phoenix Super LPG Fuelmasters to the NorthPort Batang Pier.

The PBA Commissioner’s office through Willie Marcial already gave the green light for the trade, which surprised the league.

Santos, who was a vital piece to SMB’s championship years, was part of the infamous “Death 5” lineup together with June Mar Fajardo, Chriss Ross, Marcio Lassiter, and Alex Cabagnot.

The veteran forward also helped the SMB franchise win nine PBA championships since leaving the Air21 franchise and has hit several clutch shots for Leo Austria and his team.

Meanwhile, Manuel will be trying to fill in the shoes of Santos with the storied SMB team and is also looking to win a championship with the team.

Dubbed as “The Muscle Man”, Manuel averaged 12.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game during his stay with Phoenix and will have the chance to form one of the most formidable frontcourts in the league together with Moala Tautuaa and Fajardo.