Long-time star Alex Cabagnot retires from PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Long-time PBA star Alex Cabagnot is finally hanging his jersey after 19 seasons as a pro.

Converge made the official announcement of the left-handed playmaker's retirement following Cabagnot's short stint with the young franchise.

"Thank you, Cabaggie. You may be hanging up the jersey, but your legacy remains both in the Converge FiberXers and in the PBA. Thank you, Alex Cabagnot," said the PBA squad in a post on its social media account on Monday.

The 42-year-old Cabagnot, selected second overall in the PBA Rookie Draft, spent two conferences with the FiberXers, posting averages of 4.21 points, 2.07 rebounds, and 2.36 assists in 14 games in the Governors' Cup, before seeing limited action in the ongoing Commissioner's Cup.

The former Hawaii-Hilo standout spent the best part of his professional cage career with San Miguel Beer, where he won a total of nine PBA championships.

After leading Petron/San Miguel to the 2011 Governors' Cup, Cabagnot became part of the Beermen's "Death Squad", alongside June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross, leading the franchise to eight championships from the 2014-15 season through 2019.

Cabagnot, was then traded by SMB to Terrafirma in 2021, where he played two seasons, before taking his act overseas after playing for Goyang Sono Skygunners in the Korean Basketball League from 2023 to 2024, followed by a brief foray with the Taiwan Mustangs in 2024.

Cabagnot will be joining newly-signed University of the East head coach Chris Gavina's coaching staff in the UAAP.