PBA commissioner Salud approves Devance trade to Derby Ace Llamados

It's final, Joe Devance is now a B-MEG Derby Ace Llamado while KG Canaleta and Jondan Salvador are the newest members of the Ube Republic. After two days of studying the trade transaction, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Atty. Chito Salud approved the two-team, three-player deal. "Two big men in exchange for Devance? I think that's fair enough," Salud told GMA News. "But it took me two days before I finally made a decision because I wanted to carefully study the trade. In the end, I felt the trade is fair enough for both squads." Devance will be playing in his third team in the past four seasons. He first suited up for the Welcoat Dragons (now Rain or Shine Elasto Painters), but was traded for Sol Mercado in the 2008-2009 season. Only last week, the 6-foot-7 Filipino-foreign player was shipped by the Aces to the Air21 Express for Jay-R Reyes. After a two-day stopover with Air21, Devance was sent to the Llamados, ending his turbulent journey in yet the best season of his career. Canaleta, a multi-titled Slam Dunk champion, is returning to his original team. He was part of the Express squad that made it all the way to the Finals of the 2008 Fiesta Conference but lost to Barangay Ginebra. Salvador, an undersized power forward, will help shore up the Express frontline. The team has Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena and Carlo Sharma alternating up front. - Rey Joble/OMG, JVP, GMA News