Cabagnot turns down SLR offer

Fil-Am Alex Cabagnot plans to return to the United States and finish his studies after the PBA second draft pick’s contract negotiation with the Sta. Lucia Realtors hit a snag recently.

According to Cabagnot’s agent Charlie Dy, Sta. Lucia top official Buddy Encarnado presented a take-it-or-leave offer, which the player refused to accept.

"I’m convincing him (Cabagnot) to stay but he seems now ready to abandon his dream of playing in the PBA," said Dy.

Cabagnot, a 6-foot-1 point guard out of University of Hawaii in Hilo, is asking for a guaranteed P8.5-million pact in three years — the maximum allowed by the league for rookies. Sta. Lucia is willing to give Cabagnot that deal but with condition that they put a "performance-based clause" in the contract.

Under the salary cap rules of the PBA, a rookie is only allowed a maximum monthly pay of P150,000 in his freshman year and a maximum increase of 50 percent in his salary the next two years.

Cabagnot wants the maximum pay and the maximum increase which top draft pick Anthony Washington got from FedEx.

Sta. Lucia is amenable to the maximum pay this year but wants the increase in 2006 and 2007 to be based on the player’s performance the previous year.

According to Dy, Sta. Lucia would only give a 50-percent pay increase should Cabagnot emerge the league’s top or second best point guard based on statistics. It would be 45 percent should the player emerge third or fourth best, 40 percent fifth or sixth best, 35 percent seventh or eighth best and 30 percent ninth and below.

"Alex doesn’t want that kind of a clause, otherwise he would just leave and complete his studies is the States, " said Dy.

Cabagnot is said to be still three subjects short of completing his physical education course.

The player, who studied grade one at Ateneo before migrating to the US with his family, reportedly made good impression in practice but has stopped working out with the Realtors following a stalemate in his negotiation with the ballclub.

With Cabagnot’s fate up in the air, on hold is negotiation for Cesar Catli’s own contract. Catli is the team’s second round pick.