San Miguel Beer continues overhauling lineup in preparation for return to PBA

The San Miguel Beermen, formerly Petron Blaze Boosters, continued with their massive overhaul after taking part in a seven-player trade that saw them parting ways with crack point guard Alex Cabagnot.
A day after naming Biboy Ravanes as their new head coach, the Beermen acquired Solomon Mercado from the GlobalPort Batang Pier, who in turn got Cabagnot.
Ravanes replaced Gee Abanilla, who is now San Miguel’s team manager, replacing former coach Siot Tanquingcen.
The Beermen also acquired Rico Maierhofer from the Barako Bull Energy Colas in exchange for sweet-shooting but rarely used Jason Deutchman and second round picks in the 2016 and 2017 drafts.
Barako Bull also got Leo Najorda from GlobalPort for Jonas Villanueva.
GlobalPort then shipped Villanueva to Air21 in exchange for Bonbon Custodio.
Cabagnot was drafted as the second overall pick in the 2005 draft by the defunct Sta. Lucia Realtors.
After playing for two seasons with Sta. Lucia, Cabagnot was traded to the defunct Coca-Cola Tigers. He had a short stint with the Burger King Whoppers before joining the Beermen.
Mercado, on the other hand, will be playing for his fourth team. He was originally drafted by the Alaska Aces in the 2008 draft but was immediately sent to Rain or Shine.
After Rain or Shine, Mercado was traded to the Meralco Bolts before suiting up for the Batang Pier.
With the new additions to the team, San Miguel will now be a team to watch out for in the next conference of the PBA.
San Miguel was a key figure in the PBA for quite some time before it changed its name to Magnolia in 2008. In 2011, the franchise replaced its name to Petron but couldn’t duplicate the success of the San Miguel era.

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