Another member of the fabled “Death Five” is heading to a new team after San Miguel Beer traded veteran guard Alex Cabagnot to Terrafirma in exchange for Simon Enciso.
The PBA Commissioner’s Office approved the deal Saturday, Nov. 13, almost a week after the Beermen traded Arwind Santos to the NorthPort Batang Pier for Vic Manuel.
It also continued SMB’s plans to upgrade its talent-laden lineup with younger players following its tough semifinal loss to eventual champion TNT in the Philippine Cup.
Reports surfaced that the Beermen were supposed to initially get Enciso and sophomore big man Roosevelt Adams from the Dyip, but it appears that the latter could be headed to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Cabagnot ends his second tenure with SMB highlighted by eight championships including an unprecedented five straight Philippine Cup from 2015 to 2019 along with June Mar Fajardo, Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross.
But injuries have affected the 39-year-old the last two years, including the recent Philippine Cup where he missed the last seven games of the eliminations due to a knee injury.
He did came back in time for the quarterfinals, delivering one final memorable moment for SMB fans by hitting a last-second jumper to beat NorthPort in Game 1 of the quarterfinals.
The 16-year veteran, who previously played for SMB from 2010 to 2014, averaged 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 13 games.
It will the second time that Enciso is traded in almost two months after he was shipped from Blackwater for guard Rashawn McCarthy.
Enciso was leading scorer of the winless Blackwater side in the Philippine Cup with an average of 13.7 points.