Seigle faces mauling raps anew

Purefoods player Andy Seigle reportedly figured in yet another brawl. The latest incident stemmed from a minor traffic accident yesterday morning in Makati.

Medical intern Alan Bangco of Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City was brought to the Makati Medical Center for the injuries he reportedly sustained in the incident which took place at 3 a.m. on P. Burgos. St., according to case investigator PO2 Juancho Ibis.

Seigle and Bangco are set to file criminal charges against each other.

It will be remembered that Seigle was reported to have figured in other brawls before with the last one in a Makati disco a few weeks before the Philippine team left for the Busan Asian Games last year. He nearly lost his slot in the national squad because of the incident.

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio was surprised to hear the news of the incident. "Nagpapaumaga pa rin pala," Gregorio told The STAR.

Ibis noted that Seigle’s American friend, Dale Long, 40, of Wack Wack Twin Towers, had gashes on his elbows and knees. The investigator said he has yet to see Bangco’s injuries.

In his sworn statement, the 31-year-old Purefoods Hotdogs center claimed Bangco "provoked the fight."

Seigle, of Valle Verde 5, Pasig, claimed Bangco attacked him and Long, after he supposedly caught the medical intern’s car mirror while cruising along the street.

Seigle alleged Bangco broke his jeep’s window, opened the vehicle’s door, and grabbed his arm in anger. Sensing Bangco was drunk, Seigle said he did not go out of his vehicle.

It was Long, who was on the passenger seat, who went down supposedly to pacify Bangco.

At this point, Seigle said, Bangco ran back to his car and grabbed what the basketball star thought was a weapon. It turned out to be a heavy-duty flashlight.

But in their statements, witnesses Cesar Peralta and Angelo Buendia claimed they saw Seigle and Long maul their friend.

Buendia, 28, said he saw a man holding Bangco against the gutter while another man, later identified as Seigle, hit the medical intern in the lower portion of his body.

Bangco’s friends said they only recognized the basketball superstar when they were already at the Police Community Precinct (PCP) 9.