WILFRED Uytengsu Jr. was still reeling from the loss of his Alaska team to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals.
And when he accepted the Executive of the Year plum during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Award on Saturday at the One Esplanade, Pasay City, the Aces team owner was surprised to be standing on stage, accepting the major citation from the country’s oldest media organization.
Uytengsu provided one of the highlights of the annual PSA Awards with his wit and inspiration he delivered in his speech.
“When I was told that I will be accepting this award, I smiled, and asked, ‘Why would you recognize someone whose franchise had just lost to the PBA finals in the last conference?’ It’s hardly a definition of success,” said Uytengsu, referring to his Alaska team that squandered a 3-0 finals lead to the Beermen.
The president and chief executive officer of Alaska Milk Corp., who is also involved in various sports programs that aim to develop aspiring athletes, said the award gave him the opportunity to reflect on his life being a sports patron in the country.
Uytengsu, who started very young as an athlete playing baseball and swimming, said through sports, he learned the value of work ethic, commitment, dedication and sacrifice that are the key ingredients to be successful.
“All of these turned out to be life lessons to my career. If you want something, you must work hard,” Uytengsu said.
“Many of our athletes have extreme hardships just to augment their income for food and have a place to sleep at night,” he added.
Uytengsu held a job in the bank in Los Angeles after his stint as a varsity swimmer at University of Southern California, then returned to Manila in 1995 and was given a responsibility by his father to handle the Alaska franchise in the PBA.
Under his tutelage, the franchise collected 14 championships, including the 1996 grand slam, and produced some of the league’s icons, like Johnny Abarrientos, Jojo Lastimosa and Bong Hawkins.
“This was a great journey for me. I hope to relive the spirit of sportsmanship,” Uytengsu said. “Now, I have some grander ideas for Philippine sports going forward.”