Fellow executives heap praise on Alfrancis Chua for SMC teams’ rise to the top in PBA league
FOR THE first time in the history of the PBA, three teams belonging to one stable ended up in a three-way tie for the lead heading to the playoffs.
Barangay Ginebra, San Miguel Beer and Star, three teams owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), finished their elimination round campaign with a 9-2 win-loss record, but a quotient had to be applied to determine which will take the top two positions and earn a twice-to-beat advantage heading to the next round.
In the end, the Gin Kings, who own the superior tie- break score among the three teams, secured the no. 1 spot and the Beermen wound up at no. 2.
Team executives Robert Non and Gee Abanilla of San Miguel Beer and Rene Pardo of Star attributed the team’s success to the inputs of sports director Alfrancis Chua.
A former PBA coach, Mr. Chua, who is now Ginebra’s representative to the PBA board and also the company’s sports director, has been working nearly round the clock to check on all the three teams’ needs to make sure they will all remain formidable in making a solid push either for the playoffs or the championship.
Take the case of Barangay Ginebra, for example.
“Since he became part of SMC, he had done significant things for all the three teams. He became a consultant of Ginebra, then became a coach, then he became an executive,” Mr. Non, San Miguel Beer’s representative to the PBA board, told
in a telephone interview. “During his watch, San Miguel has won three consecutive Philippine Cups while Ginebra won its first championship in eight years.
Star, too, has become more of a contender this season. His contributions are valuable for all the three teams.”
Mr. Chua came at a time when San Miguel were embroiled with controversies, but he was able to fix it by bringing the right mix of coaches and players that made the squad the most dominant team in the past three seasons.
“I think the secret to success the past three seasons can be attributed to Boss Alfrancis. He knows what he’s doing because he’s been a coach, so he knows if the coaches are performing to the task. He was also a former player, so he knows the body language of the players. But more importantly, he was able to build a strong rapport among the players and the coaches,” added Mr. Abanilla, team manager of San Miguel Beer.
Of the three teams, Star has improved by leaps and bounds and Mr. Pardo, the long-time team executive, could not thank Mr. Chua enough for the contributions he made for the team.
The team had struggles along the way, dealing with life after Tim Cone and James Yap.
Mr. Cone, who steered the old Purefoods franchise, then known as B-Meg and eventually, San Mig Coffee, to five championships capped by a rare grand slam in 2014.
He transferred to the Gin Kings last season, leaving a big shoes to fill for young Jason Webb, the last among the assistant coaches of Mr. Cone, to take over the head coaching post.
“Life after Tim Cone wasn’t easy, in fact, it was a struggle,” added Mr. Pardo. “In fairness to Jason, he wasn’t ready yet at that time, but he accepted the challenge. Alfrancis brought in Chito Victolero this season, and that’s one of the things we have to be thankful for as Chito has done a terrific job in bringing back the winning culture to the team.”
Mr. Yap, one of the franchise’s most well-loved cagers, played for the team for 13 seasons before he was traded before the start of the 2016-2017 season for Paul Lee.
“It’s not easy to deal with the fans, who adored James Yap. In fact, we still have common fans, especially during the time that we faced each other. But James is a professional, so as my players. An example is PJ Simon, a close friend of James, who took the task of defending him during our games,” added Mr. Pardo. “It’s tough losing Coach Tim and James, but it was ably filled up by Chito and Paul and that should be credited for Boss Alfrancis, who orchestrated the moves of bringing to our team.”
A HAT-TRICK
No one could be happier in the SMC camp than Ramon S. Ang, the top honcho of one of the giant conglomerates in the country. “He’s the architect behind the success,” added Mr. Non. “It’s not easy to look after three teams as if you’re looking after your three kids. But Boss RSA made sure that he’ll provide everything his team needs to remain competitive. He has no favorites among the three teams. He treats them as special members of the family.”
For Mr. Pardo, the rise of the three teams under SMC stable wasn’t planned and they had to compete against some of the crack squads in the league.
“It’s an accomplishment and we have to do it against nine other competitive teams.
The MVP Group also has three teams and then you have the independent squads like Alaska and Rain or Shine, which always figure in the playoffs, standing in our way as well and so as the rest of the teams. The success should be attributed to both Boss Alfrancis and Boss RSA,” added Mr. Pardo.