Leo Austria did some heavy lifting again Thursday night, having to bring home the original Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year trophy bestowed to the best coach as voted by the PBA Press Corps.
This time, the two-decade-old trophy made out of wood and containing a fierce look of the great Maestro and a list of past winners has found its permanent place at Austria’s residence, a reward given to the first coach who won the prestigious honor in three consecutive years.
Austria, winner of the past three seasons for steering San Miguel to five championships since his appointment in 2014, is thanking his lucky stars.
“Unexpressive yung feeling e dahil napakaraming coaches na deserving to get this kind of award but sabi ko nga I’m lucky maybe because of my hardwork,” Austria said after the PBA Press Corps’ annual awards night at Gloria Maris Banquet Hall.
The road to winning three straight Coach of the Year awards, something Tim Cone, Norman Black and Chot Reyes have never done in their careers, was something Austria didn’t expect when he was tapped three years ago to fix a Beermen that had plenty of talent but always falling short of expectations.
Fast forward to 2017 and San Miguel has been labeled as the model of PBA excellence. This past season, the Beermen nearly joined the elite list of Grand Slam winners, capturing the first two conferences only to fall short in the Governors’ Cup.
Still, it was enough for Austria to earn the nod as the season’s best coach, a feat he can’t take credit alone.
“Sabi nga nila yung luck ay laging katabi ng hardworker e and sabi it’s not me, it’s the team – from the ballboy to the management,” he said. “It’s a team effort e dahil ang success ng team nasa lahat yan e, hindi lang ako.