MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings boosted its wing players by acquiring Jeff Chan from Phoenix Fuel Masters in a one-on-one trade deal on Monday.
In exchange Fuel Masters got Kings’ first-round draft rights, which could land in the middle part of the draft. The PBA Commissioner’s Office has approved the deal.
Kings head coach Tim Cone said he wanted to get the former University of St. La Salle high school player for months now that he is willing to let go of a precious first-round pick.
“It’s always tough to give up a part of your future through first-round picks, especially for veteran players. But Jeff obviously fills a big hole for us. His ability to spread the floor for Greg (Slaughter) and Japeth (Aguilar) could spell the difference,” Cone said.
“We’ve been targeting him for months now because we have always seen him as a guy who can lift us to a higher level,” the 20-time PBA champion coach added.
Chan, a native of Bacolod City, is a welcome addition in the triangle offense of San Miguel, which struggles to draw consistent offense from forwards Kevin Ferrer, Scottie Thompson and Aljon Mariano.
A former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay, Chan has an up-and-down performance this 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. He averaged only 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in nine games.
He is coming from a conference-best 26-point output when Fuel Masters was defeated by Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 106-108 Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Kings will be Chan’s fourth team in the league. He started his PBA career with the now defunct Barako Bull Energy Cola before moving to Painters, where he won two championships./PN
