By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Rain or Shine Elastopainters will be bidding goodbye to its young star forward Javee Mocon after reports confirmed that he was already traded to the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Mocon, one of the key pieces to Rain or Shine’s successive playoff runs, failed to agree to terms with their management and was put in the trading block weeks before the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup kick-off.
It was Rain or Shine head of basketball operations Caloy Garcia who confirmed that they already put Mocon on the free agency list and were waiting for a team to negotiate with them.
A day after the opening of the 2022 PBA PHL Cup, Garcia announced that they already sent Mocon to the Phoenix Fuel Masters in exchange for Nick Demusis, their 2022 first-round pick, and their 2023 second-round pick.
Mocon was starting to bloom as Rain or Shine’s main swingman and averaged decent numbers of 1.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals during PBA’s last season.
The NCAA four-time champion with the San Beda Red Lions also didn’t suit up with the team during their thrilling 79-77 win over the Converge FiberXers in the opening game of the PBA PHL Cup last two days.
On the other hand, Mocon will be playing a different role for the Fuel Masters after reports circulated that superstar Matthew Wright will be departing from the team to explore other offers overseas.
Aside from the Mocon mega-trade, the San Miguel Beermen also made buzzer-beating moves just in time for the PHL Cup after acquiring Robbie Herndon from Converge.
Moments after he signed a one-year deal with Converge, the team traded him to San Miguel in exchange for two second-round picks in the 2023 and the 2024 PBA Rookie Draft.
