Matthew Wright's move to the Japanese B-League's Kyoto Hannaryz is understandable, considering Phoenix's struggles in the PBA. Despite starting their campaign strong and rewriting the wrongs of their past incarnations as Air21 Express and Barako Bull Energy, the team fell into the trap of having little to no trade clout.
Although rookies Tyler Tio and Encho Serrano showed promise, averaging ten points or more and stepping up from their second-round draft status, Phoenix may need to give up players like Jason Perkins and Javee Mocon to improve their chances. While Perkins and Mocon could be a solid foundation for the team, the lack of bench depth is a concern and it feels as if they are doing their best to just pad their individual records.
Despite bringing in former NCAA standouts Ben Adamos and Kurt Lojera (from Converge), the team struggled to find consistency. The Larry Muyang project is also still in development status. Coaching changes also affected Phoenix, with Topex Robinson leaving for DLSU Green Archers and Jamike Jarin taking over. Rumors of the team being on the chopping block circulated, although no official announcement has been made public.
Tio was the only player to play in all 36 games, with Serrano, RJ Jazul, and RR Garcia also playing 30 games or more. The team is in dire need of a major scoring presence, but it remains to be seen if they can find it in the upcoming draft.
With a disappointing yet expected finish of 13-23, Phoenix's struggles continue as they aim to compete against the league's major forces, but consistently losing players remains a challenge for the small-market team.
These are not official stats.
I got the stats from REAL GM. I also got my information from the PBA website, Wikipedia, and other sports sites.