Meet SMB’s Awesome Twosome

Meet the Dandy Dannys.

San Miguel Beer could liken the two Dannys — Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle — as two reliable vehicles, probably a heavy-duty SUV and a sleek convertible, which the Beermen use for a virtual trouble-free ride to victory.

Together, they lead the PBA’s most devastating twosome at the moment, one that has already driven the San Miguel Beermen to four titles with the latest at the expense of the Purefoods Hotdogs in the season-ending Governors Cup.

"Practically all the teams have their own stars but maybe some teams envy us for having these two great players together," said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.

Actually, the other teams don’t just envy the Beermen but also fear them for having the two Dannys in their lineup.

Consider what Ildefonso and Seigle can do – if one can’t beat you then the other probably will.

A case in point was the elimination round of the Commissioner’s Cup when the Beermen were forced to play most of their games without their Fil-Am stars including Seigle pending the confirmation of their Filipino citizenship by the Department of Justice. In the absence of Danny S, Danny I carried the burden for the team and the Beermen found little trouble coasting to the top seeding in the quarterfinal round.

San Miguel went on to sweep past Barangay Ginebra and Alaska Milk in the post-elims plays en route to its first championship in the season with both Seigle and Ildefonso at the spearhead of their drive.

Both have their contracts expiring at the end of the year. Uichico sees no problem re-signing the two, saying the team management is determined to keep the nucleus of the team. This early, Uichico said they have closed new deals with Nic Belasco and Olsen Racela.

Probably, there was a time some PBA watchers wondered whether the two stars could coexist. Uichico said the credit should go to both, each one is willing to work hand in hand.

"Both are really cooperating with us. Last year, we asked Danny I to take the backseat and let Danny S to be our main man offensively. And we had no problem. This time, we asked Danny S to give some way to Danny I, and we went out trouble-free," said Uichico.

Ildefonso reaped several individual awards this year, winning the Best Player of the Conference honors in both the Commissioner’s and the Governors Cups before capping his splendid season with the MVP plum in his possession.

Seigle joined Ildefonso in the Mythical Five Selection and capped his own remarkable season by winning the Governors Cup Finals MVP honors.

Nevertheless, Uichico should also get a share of the credit as he was able to convince the two young players there’s enough room at San Miguel for both of them, and there’s a better opportunity for them to win a championship together than apart.

"We’re (Ildefonso and him) complimenting one another. We’ve got a great team and that’s what I care about," said Seigle.

"Hindi siguro kami magkaka-problema ni Danny S dahil okay naman siyang kasama. At saka na-define na rin naman ni coach Jong ang roles namin. Hindi kami magkakabanggaan kung hindi magkakatulungan," said Ildefonso.