IN the twilight of a successful basketball career, Danny Seigle has one more wish which he hopes to fulfill: Retire alongside best buddy Danny Ildefonso in a Petron jersey.
A flamboyant forward who endeared himself to fans with his hang-time moves, clutch baskets and highlight reels, Seigle spent the best years of his career alongside Danny I with the San Miguel Corp. flagship team where they won six PBA championships together.
And that’s exactly the place where he dreams of making his farewell.
“Danny (Ildefonso) and I have been talking about retiring together for years now,” said the 6-5 forward. “We even thought (current Petron coach) Olsen (Racela) can play till he’s 50, now he’s the coach so that leaves me and Danny I.”
Seigle, 36, has won four Finals MVPs, a Rookie of the Year award, and nine All-Star selections in a 15-year career, and he twice lost out to Ildefonso in the season MVP race.
Now the former Wagner College star said his priority is to keep himself healthy and regain his old form to put himself closer to a return to his old ballclub.
“For me, it’s about being healthy and so far I am healthy like last conference. Unlike before I used play through injuries,” the Barako Bull veteran said.
Seigle, however, was quick to stress that he has no plans to demand a trade to Petron, insisting that his wish to retire with the ballclub “is just a small preference, but not a huge deal.”
“I would also like to retire with Barako Bull, it’s all right with me," said Seigle while expressing delight over how the George Chua franchise underwent a major buildup during the pre-Commissioner’s Cup break.
“I like our team now, the management is awesome and great, so I don’t really want to say I wanna leave Barako. I love how our management take care of us here,” added Seigle.
Seigle is in fact bullish about the chances of Barako in the import-laced tournament after the trades that brought in veterans JC Intal, Jojo Duncil and Jonas Villanueva as well as high-flying former PBA D-League MVP Allein Maliksi to the Energy Cola’s fold.
Former national coach Rajko Toroman is also set to call the shots this conference.
“The team is deeper now. We’re a better ballclub and our consultant, Rajko Toroman, is giving us a better system,” he said. “I get good looks and I hope things get really better for all of us here.”
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