Bal free to go but Caidic insists Kings need him

No matter how Bal David insists he’s no longer happy with Barangay Ginebra, the veteran pointguard may have no recourse but to play with the Kings until his contract expires next year.

"Bal has asked if he can shop around for a possible taker. I said fine, but we’ll not initiate a trade. Kung may deal siyang makita, it’s okay. If not, sorry," said Ginebra coach Allan Caidic.

Caidic was deeply concerned with David’s case because he felt the veteran pointguard would be a vital factor in the scheme of things that would make Ginebra a real championship contender.

"Before we’re saying we needed one big guy and one slasher for us to become a competitive team. With Mark Caguioa coming along and Alex Crisano starting to play well in the middle, we’d thought we’re just one big guy away from becoming a real championship contender, tapos baka masayang lang kung mawawala si Bal," said Caidic.

Caidic stressed he still needs David and he intends to keep the former UST Tiger his starting pointguard.

Caidic said David will play his usual role as they go up against Pop Cola in a crucial match in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo today. Tanduay and Mobiline clash in the other game in the 5:15 p.m. opener.

David declared he wants out of Ginebra after their last game against Alaska on June 29, feeling he’s no longer needed by Ginebra because of his diminishing playing time.

Sta. Lucia, Alaska and Shell expressed intention in assuming David’s contract but didn’t get a deal with Ginebra. The Kings reportedly asked for Dennis Espino from Sta. Lucia, Don Allado from Alaska and Mark Telan from Shell.

"Ayaw din siguro nilang pakawalan dahil puro hindi posible ang mga hinihingi nilang trade for Bal," said Danny Espiritu, the player’s agent-manager.

"I think this is a case of professional jealousy. Pero dapat nga happy na si Bal ngayon dahil bago dumating si Jayjay (Helterbrand), he’s playing extensive minutes and he was asking for a reliever. Nabubugbog raw siya," said Caidic.

But there’s no question that Helterbrand is now eating up David’s playing time. Helterbrand, though playing off the bench, averages 27 minutes a game while David 21 in the current PBA Commissioner’s Cup. In the last All-Filipino, it was the reverse with David playing 27 minutes a game and Helterbrand 21.