THOUGHTS | LARRY MUYANG'S CONTRACT SITUATION

Despite Phoenix’s injury woes and shallow rotation, Larry Muyang chose to suit up for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in the MPBL. He made his debut on March 25 in a loss to the Pangasinan Heatwaves, finishing with a solid line: 3 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block in nearly 26 minutes. But it was in his second game where he made serious noise—dropping 35 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against Manila Batang Quiapo in just over 25 minutes.

This move comes at an interesting time. Pampanga, the MPBL’s reigning back-to-back champs, is in the middle of a rebuild. Justine Baltazar, Kurt Reyson, Brandon Ramirez, MJ Garcia, and Ronan Santos have all jumped to the PBA. Even Encho Serrano, another former Phoenix player, has left the squad to join the Abra Weavers. Given this exodus, it’s hard to fault Muyang for wanting to stay active and play meaningful minutes—especially when Pampanga now features a handful of ex-PBA players who, like him, just want actual court time beyond warmups and shooting drills.

To put things in perspective, Muyang had just 63 points total across 18 PBA games this season. That’s far from the player many remember from his Letran days when he helped power the Knights to a championship.

He’s clearly trying to rediscover that old fire.

But here’s where things get murky.

Apparently, Muyang is still under contract with the Phoenix Fuel Masters until the end of May. Team manager Paolo Bugia confirmed this in an interview, citing his participation in “Ligang Labas” games as the reason he’s currently out of Phoenix’s lineup. While his PBA minutes were inconsistent, playing in another league while still contractually tied to a PBA team is tricky—and possibly damaging.

The bigger picture raises more eyebrows. Pampanga currently has seven ex-PBA players on its roster. Of the five who moved up to the PBA, Baltazar, Garcia, and Santos all landed with the Converge FiberXers. Delta Pineda, Pampanga’s head coach, also serves as an assistant coach for Converge.

It's no secret that Pampanga and Converge have a strong connection, and it makes you wonder.

Are they grooming Muyang to join Converge next season?

Or are they simply giving him a platform in the meantime?

Here’s where things get potentially problematic. Yes, Ligang Labas and pocket tourneys have always existed, offering quick cash and keeping players in shape between PBA commitments. But, brushing aside the importance of a binding contract isn’t something players should take lightly.

We’ve already seen how this can backfire. JR Quiñahan lost his PBA spot after a Ligang Labas fight surfaced online. John Amores, who was already on thin ice, found himself out of the league—and almost behind bars—after another off-court incident. These things catch up, especially when games are streamed publicly, like in the MPBL. It’s hard to claim ignorance when the entire basketball world can see you're playing 25+ minutes and nearly posting double-doubles.

At this point, Pampanga might want to seriously consider resting Muyang until this situation clears up. If I were a rival MPBL team, I’d be protesting every game he suits up in. And now that his contract status is out in the open, teams know they have grounds to do so.

The only question now is: how salty will Phoenix—and the PBA—be about all this?