After Ali Peek announced his retirement just before the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, he is now contemplating for a job as a television analyst.
The man mountain likes to have a possible stint with TV5, owned by sportsman-businessman Manny V. Pangilinan, who was also Peek’s big boss during his stint with Talk `N Text until his retirement.
The former St. Mary’s-California stalwart did the pre-game and halftime show of the match between San Miguel and Ginebra on Sunday as a guest. But Peek stressed he’s ready to take on any other jobs to be offered to him by the MVP Group of companies.
“I like to work with TV5, but we’ll see, there’s different ideas,” said Peek.
“But hopefully, I’ll do a good job. We’ll see what the bosses have to say.”
Peek admitted he knew retirement was nearing for him the moment Norman Black officially assumed the head coaching post at Talk ‘N Text.
“It’s interesting how that (retirement) happened, it’s almost like my career came full circle,” Peek recalled.
“I had an idea that when he (Black) became our head coach, this might be it. This has to be it. It won’t make sense for me to play for another coach, whether with Talk ‘N Text or another team,” added the burly big man, who played his rookie year under Black after being picked as No. 3 overall by Pop Cola during the 1998 draft.
Peek still played four conferences under Black – and even won a Philippine Cup crown last season – until he formally called it quits last month, just 13 days after he turned 39-years-old.
The veteran center said the aches on his back and knee have slowed him down the past few years, which eventually convinced him to finally hang up his playing jersey after 16 seasons in Asia’s first ever pro league.
“I mean every athlete, no matter how they perform, for me, I didn’t feel I’m meeting that standard anymore. So it’s not fair for myself, not fair for the team and not fair to the younger players who were working very hard,” said the Hawaii-born Peek, who owns career averages of 11.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assist.
Peek’s distinguished PBA career includes a Best Player of the Conference award in the 2003 Invitationals while playing for Alaska, a Mythical First Team citation in 2001, and a Sportsmanship Award in the 2007-08 season.
