SOMETHING'S UP WITH THE SMC

For well over a decade, the SMC teams have relied on their alleged farm teams—Northport and Terrafirma—to get the players they want.

It’s the same cycle every time: players sharpen their PBA skills in these down-and-out squads that couldn’t care less about winning championships, and once they’re ready, they’re “promoted” to an SMC team where they finally get what they deserve. Then, four or five seasons later, when they’ve outlived their usefulness, they get sent back to these farm teams so SMC can harvest the next batch of up-and-coming superstars.

As unfair as Alfrancis Chua’s methods may seem—creating an imbalance that clearly tilts the PBA in favor of the SMC teams—you can’t really fault him for doing what he does. At the end of the day, every franchise exists to win. Look at the current Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees of the 2000s: these teams did whatever it took to pile up championships, even if it meant breaking the system. In that sense, Chua’s just playing the same game—only this time, the PBA’s the one paying the price.

Recently, the Magnolia Hotshots acquired Zav Lucero and Will Navarro, though Navarro later signed a contract to play in Korea. They also picked up the rights to Javi Gomez de Liano in a trade that every Magnolia fan seemed to want—except for Jerrick Ahanmisi. Meanwhile, Ginebra virtually exchanged a bunch of expiring contracts, disgruntled players, and extra second-rounders for Stephen Holt, Isaac Go, RJ Abarrientos, and Terrafirma’s 2027 first-round pick. And then San Miguel cleaned out what was left of Terrafirma’s talent pool by acquiring Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig.

But what if that stream has finally dried up?

Since the 2020s began, we’ve seen Ginebra, San Miguel, and Magnolia miss out on a few opportunities. Maybe you’ll say I’m just rambling, or have gone insane—but hear me out.

Ginebra has an aging frontline. Sure, they traded Maverick Ahanmisi for Terrafirma’s 2027 first-round pick, but if this were a decade ago, they could have packaged Ahanmisi and Aljon Mariano for that same pick plus a couple of young bigs like Kemark Carino or Louie Sangalang, as uhurm, “trade fodder.” Back then, San Miguel would have found a proper frontline partner for June Mar Fajardo. No offense to Mo Tautuaa and Rodney Brondial, but the Beermen once had Arwind Santos filling that role.

That old “Death Five” lineup of June Mar, Arwind, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Ross was a juggernaut. Compare that to the current San Miguel squad, and Leo Austria’s old core would have mopped the floor with this version.

And ever since Meralco won its first championship over San Miguel, the league has slowly been shifting away from what many once saw as an SMC-friendly landscape.

Top picks can’t be easily harvested anymore, and international players now face a three-year ban.

Yes, Ginebra still found a loophole to grab Terrafirma’s top pick—but don’t think we haven’t noticed what Titan Ultra is doing. Converge tanked and landed Justine Baltazar. The Giant Risers, meanwhile, could be eyeing a 2027 top pick that might include names like Michael Phillips, Quintin Millora-Brown, DJ Fenner, or Remy Martin. If SMC keeps acting like Titan Ultra’s trade partner, fine. But I have this suspicion that Titan Ultra isn’t the lackey SMC expected. Maybe Titan Ultra thought it was a good idea to borrow Converge's "Trust the Process" formula. The Giant Risers went trade-crazy after rebranding, yet not a single move involved an SMC team.

Even Blackwater, which many consider the MVP camp’s version of a farm team, hasn’t been giving up its top picks lately. After losing Troy Rosario to Ginebra, their last significant trade was for Abu Tratter (a former Alaska player) in exchange for James Kwekuteye. I bring up Alaska because Blackwater is starting to look like the spiritual successor of Alaska’s final season—functional, respectable, and lowkey rebuilding.

And speaking of Alaska, Jeron Teng’s current situation with San Miguel feels odd. I honestly thought he’d end up with Blackwater by now.

Maybe this is the calm before the storm, but right now, the most realistic scenario is Ginebra getting another big rookie name in 2027 after Terrafirma tanks the season—because the other SMC teams have already raided their roster.

Paolo Hernandez and JM Bravo for Kris Rosales and a second-round pick?

Book it?

Converge has fielded 18 players this season while Ginebra has only used 11. Maybe they’ll also lobby to lift the player ban so Jamie Malonzo can return. I know Tim Cone loved to keep his rotation tight, but the only other player to increase their roster is current Perpetual Alta, Cedrick Abis.

SMC teams remain powerhouses in the Philippine Cup, but for some reason, they’ve been underwhelming with their import hires. Ginebra may still have Justin Brownlee, but his recurring injuries suggest that retirement isn’t too far off. That’s a problem, especially with Japeth Aguilar turning 39 in January and Tim Cone hitting 68 this December.

A decade ago, San Miguel gradually phased out Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle, and Olsen Racela to make room for Arwind Santos, Jay Washington, and Alex Cabagnot. When Tim Cone arrived at Ginebra, it marked the end of then-36-year-old Mark Caguioa’s run as their main man. James Yap was only 34 when San Mig Coffee traded him for Paul Lee.

Furthermore, most of the top San Miguel players are in their 30s.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned how Converge reshaped the PBA landscape by syncing the FiberXers with the MPBL’s Pampanga Giant Lanterns. Maybe it’s time for SMC to do something similar.

At worst, Titan Ultra ends up with the 2027 top pick, Malonzo finds another league that truly maximizes his game, and SMC has to rely on low-rated free agents to plug their roster gaps.

That said, teams with winning traditions always find ways to rise above. SMC will eventually find a way to beef up its squads. But for now, everyone’s just waiting—and maybe even hoping—to see them struggle.