BECAUSE of him, MVP means much more for Philippine basketball fans.
It no longer points solely to a tournament's Most Valuable Player, but also to its most valuable patron.
As Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan turns 74 on Tuesday, Spin.ph picks seven high points in his love affair with basketball.
Ateneo's UAAP dynasties
Ateneo's UAAP success in the 2010s remains unmatched.
Under coach Norman Black's guidance, the Blue Eagles completed a rare five-peat from 2008 to 2012 behind Chris Tiu, Nonoy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Ryan Buenafe, Kiefer Ravena, Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva, and Von Pessumal.
The partnership almost came to an end when MVP briefly parted ways with his collegiate alma mater over their contrasting stance on mining and the controversial Reproductive Health Bill in 2012.
But it wasn't long before the two parties settled their differences, leading to another dynastic run by the Blue Eagles from 2017 to 2019 with a team coached by Tab Baldwin and starring Thirdy Ravena, Isaac Go, Ange Kouame, and twins Matt and Mike Nieto.
San Beda rules NCAA
Pangilinan's success in the collegiate ranks isn't limited to the UAAP. In the NCAA, San Beda, which was his school from elementary to high school, also achieved great success.
Coaching changes from Frankie Lim and Ronnie Magsanoc to Boyet Fernandez hardly slowed down the Red Lions on the way to a five-peat from 2010 to 2014.
That run saw foreign student athletes Sudan Daniel and Ola Adeogun, as well as players like Dave Marcelo, Jake Pascual, Borgie Hermida, and later on, Baser Amer, Art dela Cruz, the Semerad twins Anthony and David, and Rome dela Rosa all hoist the coveted trophy.
They fell short of a sixth straight crown, but San Beda came back with a vengeance the following season and won three more titles more from 2016 to 2018 behind Robert Bolick, Javee Mocon and Nigerian import Donald Tankoua.
Talk 'N Text joins PBA elite
UNDER coach Chot Reyes, the Pangilinan-owned Talk 'N Text squad made its mark as one of the top teams in the PBA.
The Tropang Texters topped the 2009 Philippine Cup and when the new decade rolled on, they were just unstoppable.
With a loaded cast featuring Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Harvey Carey, Larry Fonacier, Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes, TNT was a perennial contender in the early 2010s, winning the 2011 and 2012 crowns in the all-Filipino conference.
They came close to a grand slam, but were denied by Petron in the 2012 Governor's Cup.
Still, it led to Pangilinan winning his second Danny Floro Executive of the Year award from the PBA Press Corps.
Despite missing out on the rare feat, TNT did capture the Perpetual Trophy as the Tropang Texters under Black completed the three-peat in the 2013 Philippine Cup.
Silver that glitters like gold
With Pangilinan leading the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country made it back to the world stage through the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship in Manila.
Gilas Pilipinas, under Reyes, exorcised its demons and downed Korea, 86-79 in the semifinals to book the country's first berth in the global hoops conclave in 36 years.
Behind Alapag, Castro and Marc Pingris, the Filipinos defied the odds which included the loss of naturalized player Marcus Douthit to a leg injury and pulled off an emotional victory in a packed Mall of Asia Arena.
The hosts fell to Iran in the gold medal game, 85-71, but Filipinos had a lot to look forward to.
Proud showing in the 2014 Fiba World Cup
Pangilinan took great pride in how Gilas played in Spain, where it gave some of the world's best national teams a giant scare - an 81-78 overtime loss to Croatia, a close 85-81 shave to world no. 3 Argentina, and a slim 77-73 defeat to Puerto Rico.
But it only made Gilas' 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal that much sweeter as it was the Philippines' first win in the world stage since 1974, and still remains to this day as our last.
Reyes and his wards shed a tear after the buzzer in Seville, and we could only imagine how proud Pangilinan was back then.
Against all odds
The harder the road, the sweeter the victory. And for the Gilas Pilipinas squad in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship, those struggles defined their triumph in Changsha.
Ravaged by sudden pullouts by players and injuries, the Filipino side guided by Baldwin came together and did the improbable. Naturalized player Andray Blatche and superstar Castro led the way, but the campaign also served as the coming out party for the likes of Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo and the last hurrah for veterans like Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss and Dondon Hontiveros.
What followed was a dream run to the finals, which although resulted in a silver medal that shone like gold after a tough 78-67 loss to host China.
That was also the last tournament where Pangilinan served as the SBP president as he announced his retirement in 2015.
Basketball comes home
The Philippines lost in the bid to host the Basketball World Cup in 2019 to China, but as SBP chairman emeritus, Pangilinan remained the big driving force in another bid to co-host the 2023 meet with Japan and Indonesia.
It was a tedious process, yet it finally bore fruit as the joint bid was awarded the hosting rights in December 2017.
The Philippines will take the lead in the hosting capacity, a realization of MVP's dream of bringing the world's best players to this basketball-crazy nation.
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