Sol Mercado now a free agent after talks with Phoenix bogs down

Former Brgy. Ginebra guard Sol Mercado is now an unrestricted free agent after contract negotiations with Phoenix bogged down.

The 35-year old Mercado, who was acquired by the Fuel Masters from the NorthPort Batang Pier in exchange for LA Revilla and Rey Guevarra earlier this year, was given the go-signal by Phoenix management to talk to other teams.

“We were told to look for any interested team,” said a source who is close to Mercado through an interview with SPIN.ph after the Fuel Masters’ game against the Alaska Aces, Monday afternoon at the Upper Deck Gym in Pasig City.

“To be fair with them (Phoenix management), they already said that they have no plans of signing up Sol,” added the source.

Despite already having made their intentions clear, the Fuel Masters still held talks with Mercado but negotiations nonetheless fell through.

Aside from the fact that the team is shifting its focus to beefing up its frontline after the injuries suffered by bigs Jake Pascual and Dave Marcelo, sources claim that the Fuel Masters’ found Mercado’s salary from his previous contract too steep.