ALEX Cabagnot, who was once a member of the vaunted "Death Five," San Miguel's fearsome starting quintet in many of its championship campaigns, announced yesterday that he is retiring.
Cabagnot, known around the league as "Cabaggie," called it quits after a brief stint with Converge where he had moved since returning from two overseas campaigns.
The ballclub announced his retirement and thanked him for his contributions to the team after making his comeback to the PBA last August.
“Thank you, Cabaggie. You may be hanging up the jersey, but your legacy remains both in the Converge FiberXers and in the PBA. Thank you, Alex Cabagnot,” said the ballclub on its social media account.
READ After Arwind's jersey retirement, will Cabagnot's No. 5 be next?
Cabagnot will not entirely be out of basketball. He reportedly has accepted a job as assistant coach of the University of the East which recently hired Chris Gavina as head coach.
Cabagnot returned to the PBA through Converge after playing for Goyang Sono Skygunners in Korea from 2023 to 2024, and for the Taiwan Mustangs in 2024.
The 42-year-old Cabagnot played for two conferences with the FiberXers, averaging 4.21 points, 2.07 rebounds, and 2.36 assists in 14 games in the Governors' Cup.
But in the Commissioner’s Cup, Cabagnot played only three games and scored just one point in the eliminations.
There is no question, however, that his basketball career was a decorated one, He won nine championships while playing for San Miguel, and was part of the Beermen's starters which became known as the ‘Death Five’ because the combination, that included June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, and Arwind Santos, was often lethal to the opposition.
Cabagnot was also named Finals MVP in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup, two years after he was adjudged as Comeback Player of the Year in 2015 by the PBA Press Corps.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
