PHOENIX is slowly securing the core of its team for the next PBA season.
Phoenix contract extensions
The Fuel Masters signed to new deals veteran playmaker RJ Jazul and young gunner Sean Manganti.
The two players were given two-year contracts each as confirmed by team manager Paolo Bugia to SPIN.ph on Holy Thursday.
"Yes, Jazul and Manganti, two years each," according to Bugia.
Both Jazul and Manganti are key contributors in coach Topex's Robinson's rotation in the season about to end that saw the Fuel Masters clinched a playoffs berth in the Governors Cup, but lost in the opening round against top seed Magnolia.
Jazul averaged 10.4 points, 3.08 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while shooting 37 percent from three-point range in his sixth season with the Fuel Masters.
"This conference RJ stepped up big time," said top gunner Matthew Wright, referring to the 36-year-old former Letran standout as among the positives for the franchise this season.
During the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga, Jazul was named Mr. Quality Minutes by the PBA Press Corps, which is equal to the NBA's Sixth Man Award.
Manganti meanwhile, averaged 6.5 points and 3.08 rebounds in only his first conference with the franchise after being acquired from NorthPort as part of the Vic Manuel-Sean Anthony trade.
The signing of Jazul and Manganti comes as Phoenix management and Wright continue to negotiate for a new contract in the hope the Fil-Canadian shooting guard will stay with the franchise amid interest from other PBA ballclubs and teams overseas.
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