Bigger deal forced Devance to seek trade?

Manila, Philippines - Alaska Milk was forced to let go of Joe Devance after the talented Fil-Am forward begged off.

A reliable source said Devance wanted out of Alaska, hoping to get better compensation somewhere else.

Curiously, the University of Texas-El Paso product already got the maximum pay of P350,000 a month at Alaska.

“Apparently, he knows of other players from other teams receiving more than the maximum allowed in the league. He wants that too,” said The STAR source.

“Contract issues, mostly,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone as the reason why they traded Devance to Air21 for JayR Reyes.

Team manager Joaqui Trillo, however, stressed Devance is guaranteed of the maximum pay through the end of his current contract next year.

Meanwhile, Barako Bull gained the nod of the league for an extension on its deadline to make the decision on its Governors Cup comeback plan.

“They asked that the deadline be moved to 5 p.m. Monday. They said they will discuss the matter over the weekend,” said PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial.

Marcial also said ABS-CBN’s and TV5’s formal bids for the exclusive PBA TV rights will be tackled by the board in its next meeting.

At press time, Alaska and Air21 were still awaiting the approval of commissioner Chito Salud on the trade.

The speculation is that once the trade is approved, Air21 would deal Devance to the best bidders.

Devance, the 2008 top draft pick, has emerged as a major force in the league, breaking into the Mythical Second Team last year and contending for the Best Player of the Conference award in the recent Philippine and Commissioner’s Cups.

Trillo admits they now have a big void to fill in their lineup.

“We’ll try what we can do. We can restore the team balance in the coming draft. We have one first-round and three second-round picks,” said Trillo.

Cone remains optimistic.

“With Wesley (Gonzales) and JayR, we’ve added length and athleticism, and we’ve always believed JayR is a player you can build around,” said Cone.

Alaska earlier acquired Gonzales for rookie Elmer Espiritu.