Seigle’s late night reunion

Purefoods’ Fil-Am center Andy Yadao Seigle recently visited his mother Blesilda’s hometown of Balangkayan in Eastern Samar–at 10:30 p.m.–and the late evening surprise left his relatives happily wide awake for hours.

Here’s what happened.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala was invited by his good friend Ben Evardone to grace the opening of the Sumpagan Basketball Championships during the town fiesta of Boronggan, Eastern Samar, a few weeks ago.

Never known to say no to friends, Eala accepted and brought along Tender Juicy Hot Dogs teammates Seigle and Rey Evangelista. Seigle’s first cousin Eric Yadao went for the ride, too. Both Seigle and Evangelista are folk heroes in that part of the country. Seigle’s mother, of course, is from Eastern Samar while Evangelista is from Ormoc, Leyte.

The sleepy-eyed group took a 6 a.m. flight out of Manila and arrived an hour later in Tacloban. It was a chore to wake up early that morning but nobody seemed to mind. Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino (Nonoy) Libanan welcomed the visitors and treated them to a sumptuous seafood breakfast at Yolanda’s, a famous "shanty" restaurant. Libanan told Eala a 4,000-seat gym is under construction in Tast, Eastern Samar, and will conform to PBA playing standards.

From Tacloban, the weary travelers zigged and zagged on bumpy roads for the three-hour ride to Boronggan. Seigle and Evangelista were clearly the crowd favorites as they were mobbed wherever they went. After a courtesy call on Mayor Fidel Acacta Jr., they rode in the back of a pickup truck under the hot sun in a motorcade that took them all over the modest town where there is an abundance of beautiful nipa hut homes fronting the sea.

"You wouldn’t believe how popular the PBA is in Eastern Samar," said Eala. "The PBA is widely watched in the province. Usually, people congregate in a place where there’s a TV set to watch the games so it’s a situation of only one set with lots of viewers. Obviously, that’s something the TV ratings don’t consider."

The group then took a 10-minute pump boat ride to San Vicente Island, off Eastern Samar, where Evardone hosted a lunch of fish, squid, crabs, shrimp and other seafood at his home.

Back in Boronggan that afternoon, Seigle and Evangelista were introduced on stage at the town plaza before the Sumpagan games got underway. They shook hands with fans, signed thousands of autographs and posed for

pictures. Seigle crowned the tournament’s top muse.

At night, the visitors were treated to another smorgasbord of seafood. At about 9 p.m., Seigle asked if he could visit his relatives in Balangkayan, a 45-minute drive from Boronggan. With a police escort provided by Mayor Anacta, Seigle went to Balangkayan with his cousin and Evangelista. They got to the town at 10:30 p.m. A brownout was in progress but Seigle knew where to go–it was his second trip there. He knocked on the door of his uncle Laboy Yadao’s home.

Laboy, who’s the brother of Seigle’s mother, knew it could only be his fun-loving nephew calling at such an ungodly hour. "Is that you Andy?" he called out after hearing the knock on his door.

Seigle and his relatives had a grand, although brief, candlelight reunion. There was a lot of hugging and kissing and telling stories. Neighbors heard the commotion and joined in the celebration, too. Seigle and his companions were offered to spend the night but said they were expected back in Boronggan.

Back in Boronggan at midnight, Seigle and the visitors took a scary boat ride to San Vicente Island where they slept.

"It was pitch-black," recounted Eala. "Andy noticed the algae underwater giving light, like they were guiding us. He was amazed by the wonder of nature. Through it all, Andy never complained. He told me he was happy to see his relatives again. Andy’s quite a guy, very friendly and very accommodating. Because he’s so tall, the fans gravitate towards him. He loves greeting people and everyone recognizes him."

Early the next morning, the group motored to Sulat, Eastern Samar, where Seigle fired the starting gun for a fun run. On the way to Tacloban, the visitors dropped in on Rep. Libanan who was in basketball shorts playing in a local sportsfest. Seigle put on a dunking exhibition for the fans gathered to watch the town games. Rep. Libanan later toured the visitors around the Tast gym which should be finished by next year.

The group–except Evangelista who stayed behind to visit relatives in Ormoc–took lunch at the Happy Landing restaurant in the Tacloban airport before boarding the 3:30 p.m. flight to Manila. Like a true Pinoy with a taste for Pinoy food, Seigle gorged on Purefoods corned beef, daing and rice.

Seigle, 31, has played in the PBA since 1997 and represented the country twice in the Asian Games. Instead of driving around in a luxury car or some kind of SUV, Seigle rides a custom-made jeep–complete with all the colorful frills, the bold lettering on the sides (his jersey No. 52, the names of his Filipina wife and their two children) and the stainless steel casing. That’s the Filipino in Seigle shining through.