IN the end, Beau Belga has decided to stay with Rain or Shine.
The wide-bodied slotman has agreed in principle to re-sign with the Elasto Painters franchise after management readjusted the three-year contract extension offered to him that sources said should come up to P14.2 million.
Danny Espiritu, who represents the 6-foot-6 burly center out of Philippine Christian University, said Belga did not get the P15.12 million he sought that would've given him the maximum league salary of P420,000 a month for the duration of the three-year contract.
Under the adjusted contract which the big man is set to sign on Tuesday, Belga’s monthly pay will be accelerated yearly until it hits the league maximum on the third and final year, sources said.
“Accelerating `yung napag-kasunduan, so magpipirmahan na sa opisina sa Martes,” Espiritu told Spin.ph on Sunday.
Espiritu declined to give the details of the new contract although sources within the Rain or Shine camp said the Gilas Pilipinas reserve will get P370,000 per month during the first year, P400,000 in the second year, before receiving the league's maximum salary of P420,000 on the final year.
His decision to stay assured coach Yeng Guiao of keeping intact the Elasto Painters’ frontline that Belga shared with JR Quinahan and Jervy Cruz last season.
It was under Guiao’s watch that Belga blossomed into a versatile big man, who played a key role in the team winning its first-ever PBA championship during the 2012 Governors Cup.
With Belga staying put, Guiao said he intends to boost Rain or Shine’s frontline by drafting either Ian Sangalang or Letran's top slotman Raymond Almazan with the No. 3 pick overall in Sunday's PBA rookie draft.
Barangay Ginebra, which owns the first overall pick this year, is likely to select seven-foot slotman Greg Slaughter.
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