For the third time in six seasons, San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Sports Director Alfrancis Chua will be the recipient of a major award from the PBA Press Corps as it holds its 30th Awards Night on Tuesday at the Novotel Manila Araneta City.
Chua is set to be honored again with the Danny Floro Executive of the Year Award for the contributions he has done for the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national team, while also looking over the operations of teams under the SMC umbrella in San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra, and Magnolia as consistent title contenders in Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league.
Bones Floro, grandson of the amiable Crispa team owner and executive Danny Floro in whose honor the award was named, has also been invited to personally hand out the award to Chua during the event presented by Cignal.
A former player and champion coach before transitioning to the corporate world, Chua will only be the second three-time recipient of the special award after the late RFM team manager Elmer Yanga.
Previously, Chua was Executive of the Year in 2018 and 2022, while Yanga won the award three straight years from 1993 to 1995.
As per league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, Chua and Yanga are two of the nine executives who are multiple winners of the award being presented by the men and women who regularly cover the PBA beat.
The Barangay Ginebra governor first got involved with Gilas Pilipinas as manager of the team that made history in last year’s 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China by winning the country’s first gold medal in basketball after 61 years.
His busy workload had him giving up the position later on, but designated Barangay Ginebra deputy Richard Del Rosario as his worthy replacement and worked hand in hand with national coach Tim Cone.
In Season 48, three SMC teams made it to the finals of the two conferences at stake, with San Miguel Beer copping the Commissioner’s Cup crown over Magnolia, but lost to Meralco in the Philippine Cup title series.
