Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine is keeping the rest of the nucleus that made the Elasto Painters the most consistent team in the PBA in the last three years.
After letting go of JR Quiñahan and superstar point guard Paul Lee days after coach Yeng Guiao left the team three weeks ago, Rain or Shine management has put its foot down and apparently wants to keep its winning tradition, signing Raymund Almazan and Jericho Cruz to lucrative, multi-year extensions.
Beau Belga also signed the same deal just a few days back, with Gabe Norwood, an Elasto Painter all throughout his career, also close to sealing a new pact, sources said.
Quiñahan, traded to GlobalPort for Jay Washington after he and Rain or Shine couldn’t come to terms on an extension, also wanted a multi-year pact and a package that would pay him close to the maximum.
Sources said Quiñahan could well be on the way to rejoining Guiao at NLEX after his camp’s initial negotiations with Batang Pier management hit a snag.
Belga and Almazan signed three-year deals worth P420,000 a month, while Cruz, the former Adamson star who blossomed as a backcourt force under Guiao, will also be with Rain or Shine until the end of the 2019 season for just a little less in pay.
Caloy Garcia will now be calling the shots for the Painters, who won two championships in six seasons with the firebrand Guiao.
Rain or Shine appeared in nine straight Final Fours, the streak snapped only during the recent Governors’ Cup.
Lee was shipped to Star for former two-time MVP James Yap, with Hotshots management sure to give Lee whatever he wants.</pre>