Magnolia further injected youth into its veteran-laden crew for the next PBA season after coming to terms with four fresh talents, Monday.
Jerrick Ahanmisi, the Hotshots’ 10th overall pick in last March’s Rookie Draft, bannered the signing spree by agreeing to a two-year contract.
Loren Brill, RR De Leon, and 2019 third-round pick Alvin Capobres, meanwhile, were all signed by the SMC-owned ball club to one-year deals.
With this, Magnolia now has a total of 15 players at its disposal, and such an amount is quite enough for them to work around for the new season.
“Now we have a fifteen-man lineup,” said head coach Chito Victolero.
The team looks all set for the cage wars that could possibly start next month but there remains one question: Will Marc Pingris be with the team?
It could be remembered that the 39-year-old is reportedly thinking of retirement, citing the injuries he had suffered the past few years as a reason.
The nine-time PBA champion tore his left ACL in the 2018 Philippine Cup semifinals versus NLEX, and has played sparingly since.
After playing four 21 games in 2019, Pingris wasn’t able to join his team in the Philippine Cup bubble last year due to a nagging calf injury.
The two-time Finals Most Valuable Player hasn’t signed a new deal since his last one expired after last season.
But he continues to put in the work this off-season, proudly sharing the grind he’s going through by posting about them on his Instagram account.
And the Magnolia faithful hopes that he will play next season, as they are excited to see his reunion with Gilas Pilipinas teammate Calvin Abueva.
Still, the Hotshots patiently await his decision.
“Right now, wala pang update kay Ping. So we just try to wait for Ping,” said Victolero. “We wait for him kung ano ‘yung magiging [desisyon] niya.
“Right now, meron kaming fifteen players.”
