Injured Seigle may call it quits

The Philippine Star
Friday, September 21, 2007

Andy Seigle, the 1997 PBA top draft pick, is another former marquee player who may have seen the end of his career.

Unable to get a contract renewal with Barangay Ginebra, Seigle, 35, was trying out with Red Bull when he suffered a suspected ACL injury on a bad fall.

“It’s a pity because we need a big man. He came to us, saying he wanted to show Ginebra that he still can play. I told him ‘okay, prove yourself.’ But he suffered the injury just in his third day in practice with us,” said Red Bull team manager Tony Chua, the current league board chairman.

“He’s way out of shape. In such a case, a player is really prone to injury,” said coach Yeng Guiao. Seigle, a former University of New Orleans mainstay who played for the RP team in the Bangkok and the Busan Asian Games, failed to strike a deal with Ginebra with the player reportedly still asking for a maximum pay although he spent much of the 2006-07 season nursing various injuries.

His game had been on a steady decline the last five years or since his best season in the league in 2001when he averaged a personal best 14.6 points a game with Purefoods.

But for his size and experience, the 6-foot-9 center may still have found a taker if not for the injury.

The first Fil-Am player picked No. 1 overall in the annual draft, Seigle averaged in double figures in five of his first six seasons in the league.

He normed 13.3 points and 9.9 rebounds a game as he bagged the Rookie of the Year award with Mobiline in 1997.

Other veteran stars no longer re-signed by their mother teams are Jun Limpot, Vic Pablo and Poch Juinio, leaving Johnny Abarrientos, Olsen Racela and Rey Evangelista as the senior mainstays in the league.

Meanwhile, the PBA visits the Ateneo Blue Eagle gym today at the resumption of its preseason tourney. – Nelson Beltran