Fuel Masters net Baguio, Buenafe from trade deals

MANILA, Philippines – Phoenix Petroleum has acquired from the trade market veteran wingmen Cyrus Baguio and Ronjay Buenafe who will be tasked to cover for the absence of the injury-hit JC Intal in the first few weeks of the 2016 PBA Governors Cup that fires off Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Fuel Masters got Buenafe from the Meralco Bolts for point guard Jonathan Uyloan and tabbed Baguio in a complex trade deal with the Alaska Milk Aces that also involved future draft picks.

But basically, Phoenix acquired Baguio for only a second round pick in a surprise development with two days before the start of the season-ending Governors Cup.

“Obviously, they (the Alaska Aces) are looking at the future. They want young players. For our part, we’re looking for somebody to fill the void left by JC Intal,” said Phoenix coach Alex Vanguardia.

“Cyrus is turning 36 but I feel he’s still got two to three good playing years in him. I know that he takes care of himself well. I’ve known him from his Phl Youth team days under coach Louie Alas where I served as an assistant,” Vanguardia also said.

Phoenix went around the PBA circle in search of a scorer after Intal didn’t improve on the treatment he underwent in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“The swelling on his knee subsided but he still feels sharp pains. He may now undergo arthroscopic surgery to clean up his knee,” said Vanguardia.

Intal, a former Ateneo hotshot who had a stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2015 Changsha FIBA Asia, was the main man of Phoenix in its PBA debut last conference.

Meanwhile, Baguio’s numbers have been on a decline from his best year with Red Bull in 2008 where he normed 18.02 points. In the last conference in his 13th season as a pro, the former UST Tiger averaged only 8.47 points. He’s played for Alaska in the last six years.

Buenafe, meanwhile, spent most of the time on the bench at Meralco in the last Commissioner’s Cup.