Ageless Seigle turns back clock

MANILA, Philippines - Don’t think for a moment that Dynamite Danny Seigle has worn out his fuse or lost his explosiveness.  Last Friday, Seigle detonated on cue and delivered six points, including a numbing triple, down the stretch as Barako Bull upended San Mig Coffee, 79-75, to hand newly hired coaching consultant Rajko Toroman his first win on the Energy Cola bench.

Seigle, 36, is in his 13th PBA season and third team after San Miguel Beer and Air 21. He was Rookie of the Year in 1999, played on six San Miguel championship squads and was named Best Player of the Conference twice. Now, in the twilight of his career, Seigle is out to prove he can still keep pace with the young thoroughbreds in the league.

“Danny is setting the example for his teammates,” said Toroman. “He is first to report for practice at 7:45 a.m. We begin practice at 9. He hasn’t missed practice since we started three weeks ago, meaning he’s healthy and excited to play like before. He’s still one of the best players at position four. I’ve told Danny to keep in mind two things – first, to work hard to stay in shape and second, to play team ball. It’s a different system we’re running so Danny is still learning how to fit in at position three. We’re taking it step by step and Danny will be a major part of our progress.”

Seigle hit two free throws to knot the count, 64-all, after the Mixers seized the lead early in the fourth period last Friday. He knocked down a huge three to cap a 7-0 surge that transformed a two-point deficit into a five-point lead, 76-71, with 30.4 ticks left. Seigle closed out the scoring with two more foul shots to seal it, 79-75. He wound up with eight points, four rebounds and two assists in only 13 minutes.

Toroman said beating San Mig Coffee wasn’t easy even if the Mixers played without import Matt Rogers, suffering from dehydration and confined in the hospital for food poisoning. “We could only rotate four guys in positions one, two and three – Jonas (Villanueva), Josh (Urbiztondo), Allein (Maliksi) and Mark (Macapagal) – because of health issues,” said Toroman. “We were short-handed. But we played good defense. Any time you limit San Mig Coffee to 75 points, with or without an import, is a big accomplishment. Our best defender is Evan (Brock) and even if we couldn’t get a lot of points from position four until Danny exploded, we managed to hold on.” Toroman paid tribute to the Barako coaching staff – interim head coach Bong Ramos, Jigs Mendoza, Robert Sison and Charles Tiu – and the players for making the win possible.

Toroman worked with a short rotation as Don Allado was coming off sick bay and played only three minutes while Jojo Duncil was also under the weather and logged only four minutes. J. C. Intal, Sean Anthony, Celino Cruz, Emman Monfort and Roger Yap sat out because of injuries. Yap is scheduled for a knee procedure to clean out bone spurs tomorrow and will be sidelined for five weeks. Intal may or may not play against Global Port today.

“We’re missing J. C,” said Toroman. “He has practiced with us only since the other day. He’s smart, athletic and very talented. Our rotation is limited but our guys are working hard to win. I’m very happy with our progress. Michael Chua (team owner George Chua’s son) attends every practice and we’re grateful for the all-out support from management.” 

Toroman described Brock as a hard worker who gets the job done. “We beat Meralco by 23 in a practice game where Evan had only 14 points and four rebounds while (Eric) Dawson had 30 and 20. It’s really not just about the import, it’s getting everyone to play as a team. Evan has a good attitude and is very smart. He’s not the best individual import there is but he fits well with our team. He shows up for practice at 8 a.m. with a smile on his face. He’ll give us at least 15 points and 10 rebounds a game and if our locals contribute their usual numbers, we’ll be okay.”

Toroman said he relies on Villanueva and Urbiztondo to show the way for the Energy. “Leaders are born on the court and I think Jonas and Josh are two of our leaders,” he said. “Josh is a better shooter.  Jonas is a creative point guard, athletic and a tough defender. Mick (Pennisi) is also one of our leaders. He is a perfect fit in our system because for a big man, he knows how to play in the perimeter. Then, there is Danny who is very motivated to play. Don is recovering from being sick and we’re also expecting big things from him. If all of our guys are healthy, we’ll be very competitive but at the moment, we’re just trying to win with who is available. If we work hard as a unit, we might be able to surprise a few teams.”

Urbiztondo delivered 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes against the Mixers while Villanueva compiled 16 points, one rebound and five assists in 34. Brock had 18 points and 12 rebounds in 41 minutes. A chink in his armor is free throw shooting as he sank only 2-of-7 from the line.

Brock, 28, was measured at 6-8 1/2 by the PBA. He played in Venezuela, Korea, Dominican Republic, Argentina and Indonesia before moving here. Last season, Brock led the Indonesia Warriors to the ABL title with Steve Thomas and was voted Finals MVP.