Pacts readied for Adducul, Cortez

Romel Adducul, the finest big man to come out of this year’s PBA draft, will meet with Ginebra management today hoping to land a big deal that would make him accomplish a lifelong dream of playing in the country’s premier basketball league.

Adducul, whose entry into the PBA last year was blocked by his failure to cut his legal ties with the MBA, will be accompanied by his manager Ed Ponceja in the scheduled meeting with Ginebra officials led by league chairman Jun Cabalan.

Coach Allan Caidic will not attend the meeting. He said it’s purely a player-management matter although he seemed excited over the prospects of playing Adducul, a former member of the ABC Mythical Team, alongside Eric Menk and Jun Limpot.

"All I can give management is my input regarding Adducul’s value to the team. Of course he’ll be a big factor. His presence will add more depth to the team considering his experience with the MBA, PBL and the national team," said Caidic.

"Once we sign him up, he’ll occupy the No. 5 (center) position then at least I’ll have the luxury of playing with some combinations with him, Jun Limpot and Eric Menk," added Caidic, confident of a deal between Adducul and management worth at least P150,000 on the first year.

Mike Cortez, who emerged the top pick, is set to seal a deal with Alaska. Under the proposed contract, Cortez will receive P8.7 million for the next three years with the former La Salle superstar receiving a monthly salary of P150,000 this year, P225,000 next year and P350,000 in 2005.

"I’m still waiting for the finalization of the contract. My agent is still working out the final details with Alaska. But I’m not really worried about it anymore. All I know is that we’ll start practising with Alaska on Wednesday," Cortez told The STAR yesterday.