FOR San Miguel fans, the trade that sent Arwind Santos to NorthPort in exchange for Vic Manuel came as a complete shock.
There was no arguing that the Lubao, Pampanga-born forward has earned his place among the best SMB players ever with a resume adorned by a league MVP award and nine championships won in a Beermen jersey.
But the PBA is and will always be a business, and Santos' trade wasn't the first time that the fabled SMB franchise was audacious enough to part ways with a marquee player in its long history.
Spin.ph takes a look at the past instances that the Beermen shipped out a proud part of the franchise.
Abet Guidaben
Even before he got to San Miguel, Guidaben was already an all-time great after winning 13 titles with the famed Crispa squad as well as the 1983 PBA MVP award.
Yet he continued to play at his best when he got to Magnolia Cheese (later rebranded to San Miguel), steering the franchise to three championships and winning the 1987 PBA MVP award.
But after the 1988 All-Filipino Conference where the Beermen finished fourth, Guidaben was sent to the Purefoods Hotdogs for fellow legend and longtime rival Ramon Fernandez in one of the most controversial trades in league history.
Ato Agustin
From the high of its grand slam season in 1989, San Miguel found itself hobbled by injuries the following seasons and turned to Agustin to carry the mantle.
The Lubao, Pampanga-born guard proved up to the task as he helped end a three-year title drought for the Beermen in the 1992 All-Filipino Conference on his way to taking home that season's MVP honors - the first and only second-round pick to do so.
He helped the franchise win two more titles before being hobbled by injuries in 1995. A year later, Agustin was sent to Sunkist for Nelson Asaytono.
He did find his way back to the franchise after his playing days, coaching the team in 2009 and even winning the 2011 PBA Governors' Cup. He remains an assistant coach in Leo Austria's coaching staff to this day.
Allan Caidic
Caidic was already in the twilight of his career when San Miguel sent him and the rights to Edward Naron, Yoyoy Villamin, and Siot Tanquingcen to Ginebra. In exchange, only Boybits Victoria went back to the Beermen.
The aftermath of the trade explained the reason behind the stunning move: The Triggerman, it turned out, was groomed to eventually take over the coaching reins and was in fact taken in by the Gin Kings as a playing assistant coach.
However, then Ginebra coach Sen. Robert Jaworski stepped down before the plan could be executed. Caidic served for a while as a coach at Ginebra.
Nelson Asaytono
Speaking of Asaytono, The Bull emerged as the go-to guy for the Ron Jacobs-coached squad and was even an MVP contender as he led the league in scoring back in 1997.
The San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro-born forward took home two Best Player of the Conference (BPC) awards and a Mythical First Team selection during his time with the Beermen - but never a championship.
And in 1999, Asaytono was traded, together with Will Antonio, to Pop Cola in exchange for Nic Belasco, Dwight Lago, and Cris Bolado.
Danny Seigle and Dondon Hontiveros
Seigle came in as a direct hire in 1999 and was quick to assert himself as a star at San Miguel, winning two Finals MVP awards and a Best Player of the Conference honor in the 1999 Governors' Cup right in his rookie year.
Dynamite Danny helped the Beermen win seven championships in the coming decade as he turned out to be a perfect dance partner for Danny Ildefonso.
Hontiveros, meanwhile, came from Tanduay in 2002 and immediately established himself as a key player in the rotation, thanks to his pinpoint sniping that helped San Miguel win two more championships.
Yet being among the faces of the Beermen in the 2000s wasn't enough to spare both Seigle and Hontiveros from the trading block.
In a drive to get younger, Petron sent the two, as well as Dorian Pena and Paul Artadi, to Air21 for the top three picks of the 2010 PBA Draft, namely Noy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, and Rey Guevarra.
Hontiveros returned to the Blaze Boosters in 2011 but the stay proved to be brief before he was traded anew a year later to Alaska.
Honorable Mention:
Danny Ildefonso
We would be remiss if we didn't include Lakay in this list. But compared to the others in this list, Ildefonso wasn't traded but rather, was left unsigned by the Beermen when his contract expired in 2013.
Ildefonso steered San Miguel to eight championships in his 14 seasons with the franchise, winning back-to-back MVP honors in 2000 and 2001 as well as taking home five Best Player of the Conference awards. Even in his latter years, the Urdaneta, Pangasinan native remained a reliable option upfront as well as a valuable voice in the development of one June Mar Fajardo.
Unfortunately, the comments he made in an interview with GMA News which discussed Petron's moves from the Seigle and Hontiveros trades to the sacking of longtime teammate Olsen Racela soured his relationship with management.
Meralco eventually picked Ildefonso from the free agent pool where he played for two seasons until his retirement in 2015.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph