Projected top rookie pick Stanley Pringle wants $20,000

Globalport owner Mikee Romero must have been horrified to learn that projected first overall pick Stanley Pringle wanted a monthly salary of $20,000 for his rookie year in the PBA.

That is roughly equivalent to P800,000.

“For a rookie, P150,000 is the maximum monthly salary set by the league,” PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial reminded us.  “What Pringle is asking for even goes beyond a non-rookie cager’s maximum monthly salary of P420,000 a month.”

Marcial said Pringle is probably not aware of the PBA’s standard rates  and guidelines because his agent is American. We tried to research how much the ABL’s Indonesian Warriors used to pay him,  but  no one could tell us.

The 27-year-old Filipino-American  cager is credited with having steered the Warriors to their first ABL title  in 2012. They were headed for back-to-back championships but Pringle was sidelined by an injury the following season and was unable to see action for some time.

According to an inside source, Pringle’s original asking price of  $16,000 had been submitted to his prospective team. Later, this amount was increased to $20,000.

Globalport governor Erick Arejola said they are bound by the rules of the PBA and can give Pringle only a maximum monthly salary of P150,000.

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For Pringle,  it’s a “take it  or leave it”  situation.

If he refuses to sign the contract offered by Globalport following the draft, he will have to sit out one whole PBA season. His two choices are sign for a P150,000-monthly salary or sit out one season.

Of course, he can always go to another league.

If Pringle withdraws his application for the draft, who would most likely be the league’s overall first pick?

It could be a tossup among a number of players, according to Marcial.

“It could be Chris Banchero of Boracay Rum, who also played in the ABL for San Miguel. Then there’s Jake  Pascual, Kevin Alas and Garvo Lanete,  who all played for NLEX and are all MVP winners.

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HOOPVINE: If the POC refuses to recognize Philip Ella Juico, who was elected new Patafa president by the board last July  25,  “then that means I’m still Patafa president. And I thought the POC  is doing everything to get rid of me,” said Go Teng Kok, who served the NSA for 24 years… Now that NLEX has moved up to the PBA where Kirk Long cannot play because of restrictions on American cagers, he said he will most likely play for the new MVP team in the D-League. Kirk is currently in the UAAP TV panel and he is doing quite well.