Gregorio bags PBA top coach award

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio emerged the runaway winner of the Coach of the Year award and will receive his second Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan Trophy in four years during the 2006 PBA Press Corps Awards Night at Kamayan-Padre Faura Saturday.

The simple awarding ceremony is set to start at 8 p.m. with Gregorio sharing center stage with Purefoods governor Rene Pardo as the Executive of the Year, the recipient of the Danny Floro Trophy.

"The Coach of the Year award is the icing on the cake for me. Very rewarding considering the circumstances we’ve gone through. After 2002, we’re on a tailspin.

Winning the championship, my players winning individual awards and me winning the Coach of the Year are huge positive developments for us," said Gregorio.

"It’s the triumph of the whole Purefoods coaching staff more than Ryan Gregorio as an individual. It’s never done before but we did coaching as a team at Purefoods," added Gregorio sharing his award with assistant coaches Ronnie Magsanoc, Coy Banal, Dayong Mendoza and Patrick Esmundo.

In the 13th staging of the annual PBAPC Awards, Gregorio is to receive his second Dalupan Trophy after sharing the Coach of the Year honors with Coca-Cola’s Chot Reyes in 2002.

"I was happy being co-winner of the award in 2002. Pero mas masarap pala ang feeling ng solo winner," Gregorio said.

Gregorio beat out Red Bull’s Yeng Guiao for the coveted award for steering the Giants to a second-place finish in the Fiesta Cup and to the championship in the Philippine Cup.

Pardo easily won the Executive of the Year award as he became the most accomplished PBA top official last season, doing a good job in the Giants team front office although he had retired in his lofty position at Purefoods Corp.

Pardo became the second Purefoods official to win the Executive of the Year award after Simon Mossesgeld in 1997.

Also to be feted in the awards rites are Marc Pingris as Best Defensive Player, Ronald Tubid Mr. Quality Minutes, Danny Seigle Comeback Player of the Year, Luisito "Boy" Cruz Referee of the Year and Denok Miranda, Larry Fonacier, Leo Najorda, Nino Canaleta and Paolo Bugia composing the All-Rookie Team.

Tubid won the Mr. Quality Minutes award for the second straight year, the same feat gained by Cruz as the league’s top referee.

Accel, ABC-5, San Miguel Corp., Red Bull, Alaska, Charlie Dy and Dorian Peña will be given citation for their support to the sportswriters regularly covering the PBA beat.

San Miguel media relation officers Serge Alombro and Art Cuevas, meanwhile, will be given plaque of appreciation also for their support to the corps.