FROM GREENHILLS TO GREENER PASTURES | What we know about Mike Phillips' San Juan departure so far

His recent Gilas stint opened a window of opportunities for Mike Phillips, but it also developed cracks in his working relationship with the San Juan Knights. Dennis Acosta (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—When asked by Dugout Philippines on Thursday night about his whereabouts, San Juan head coach Alex Angeles said that Mike Phillips was just taking a rest from the wear and tear of the third window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers for Gilas Pilipinas and opted not to come to the Bacoor City STRIKE Gymnasium to support his club against GenSan.

Angeles also expected Phillips to return to the Knights for their next game against the Meycauayan Marilao Gems on Tuesday.

However, behind the scenes, some friction between the Knights and Phillips was brewing, and a few days later, word quickly spread out that the energetic power forward had already left the team.

The big topic this past weekend in Philippine pro basketball was simply about Phillips' decision to leave Greenhills in search of greener pastures.

What motivated him further was his recent appearance with Gilas, which makes him eligible to join the Japan B.League under its Asian Player Quota program.

One insider told Dugout Philippines that playing in Japan was part of the plan, but in an interview with All-Star Magazine's Naveen Ganglani, while Phillips' brother Ben confirmed that there are offers, he clarified that the former UAAP finals MVP is not B.League-bound.

Another source told Dugout Philippines that Mike Phillips' performance against Australia, in which he stood tall as Gilas' primary inside force despite the 43-point loss, put some Australian NBL teams on notice.

Separate reports by Spin.PH, Philippine Star, and Daily Tribune, though, claimed that the parting of ways was not amicable.

Team manager Jun Usman said in the Spin report that San Juan only found out about Mike's plan to leave from Ben without the younger Phillips personally telling them about his decision, calling it unprofessional and unfair.

The clincher is an opt-out clause inserted in Mike Phillips' contract that can be triggered anytime if a better career opportunity arrives.

The understanding was that Phillips' camp immediately activated the termination clause after the 2023 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist got to play for Gilas during the previous FIBA window.

Meanwhile, the reports of PhilStar and Tribune said that Mike already packed his bags and left the condominium unit the Knights gave to him in Mandaluyong without telling them.

Dugout Philippines tried to reach out to Angeles again regarding the Phillips situation on Tuesday, but he quickly left the Navotas Convention Center following San Juan's 88-78 win against Meycauayan Marilao.

The victory put the Knights back on top of the entire MPBL standings at 14-1, owning the tiebreaker against the Abra Weavers due to their 66-58 win on May 2, in which Phillips played.

The concern now is whether San Juan can duplicate the victory that snapped Abra's Philippine record 38-game winning streak without Phillips if they meet in the playoffs with the Weavers still having a solid inside rotation in Raven Gonzales, Drex Delos Reyes, and Tucker Molina.

One source revealed that Jhaymo Eguilos is listed as a reserve for the Knights, but they may need to wait for the Converge FiberXers to release him so they can quickly sign him up as Phillips' replacement.

The other games in Navotas saw Quezon edging Bataan 86-73 and Zamboanga clipping Sarangani 104-77.