MASTER SPORTSMAN: Sports, family keep Loyzaga going

There’s an air of simplicity and humility to this man donning a gray collared shirt, jogging pants and a pair of runners. He arrived in his breakfast meeting carrying a green tote bag and a tumbler, suggesting that he will be having a packed day ahead.

But no — Chito Loyzaga stressed that it’s just a normal Friday for him.

“You know what I love here in our area is that everything is accessible. You can have meetings then go home right after as if nothing happened,” said Loyzaga, who took a short drive from his house in Canlubang to this all-day breakfast restaurant in Nuvali for an interview.

“That’s why I already cleared my weekend schedule. I can go to Metro Manila during weekdays but on weekends, I’m just staying here in Laguna. It’s more relaxed here — perfect for the family.”

Yes, family has always been the top priority for Loyzaga.

But the lure of making an impact, not to mention his rich background and pedigree, pulled him closer to his second love — sports.

After all, the Filipino athletes want to see all hands on deck as they face the massive challenge of sustaining the momentum they gained during their very successful and historic participation in the Paris Olympics.

Experienced sportsman

Aside from being the son of basketball great Carlos Loyzaga, Loyzaga has a very decorated resume when it comes to sports management and administration.

After retiring as a distinguished member of the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) most popular team, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, in 1993, Loyzaga had an experience leading almost all sports institutions in the country, including the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

First, he worked as a commissioner of the Metropolitan Basketball Association, the defunct professional league that gave the PBA a run for its money in the late 1990s.

Then, he served as general manager of the San Miguel Beermen before being appointed as commissioner of the PSC under the leadership of chairman Ricardo “Richie” Garcia from 2010 to 2012.

Although he resigned from his government position to take care of his ailing father in Melbourne, he returned to Manila a few months later to serve as commissioner of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

Two years later, National University tapped him to serve as its athletics director, giving him a chance to attend to the needs of student-athletes while working directly with school administrators and other members of the collegiate community.

He fulfilled that role while sitting on the board of Sports Vision, the organization that runs the very successful Premier Volleyball League.

Right now, he is the president of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, opening the door wide open for him to become the POC auditor in 2021.

On a more personal note, he is the brother of actresses Bing and Teresa Loyzaga and former cager Joey Loyzaga. His nephew, Diego Loyzaga, is also into acting while his wife is Toni Loyzaga-Yulo, the Environment and Natural Resources Secretary of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Well, everything is important to me. Everything has its purpose and everything has its meaning and fulfillment,” said Loyzaga, who will turn 66 on Thursday.

“But my door is always open to explore other things and not necessarily limited to sports. For as long as it makes a lot of sense to me, it gives me purpose, it gives me fulfillment, then, I can explore that possibility that I can get involved in some way.”

Helping sports

Despite the many roles he had played, Loyzaga stressed that he is far from done in helping Philippine sports.

In fact, there are a few opportunities that are being presented to him that would enable him to help the sector that had molded him into the kind of person he is right now.

“At this point, there are things that are knocking at my door,” he said without revealing too much information.

“Again, nothing is set in stone, everything is still being evaluated. But the day will come that I will have to make a decision whether I get involved in or not.”

“At the end of the day, you have to be happy with what you’re doing. If you’re not happy, why would you do it? Or if it doesn’t give you a sense of fulfillment, why would you go there? You always have to be excited with what you’re doing. If you don’t have that excitement, then it doesn’t make sense for you to involve yourself in something.”

Think like an athlete

Loyzaga said the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 will greatly test the resolve of Filipino athletes.

In the Asian Games, the national men’s basketball team will be coming in as the defending champion while in the Olympics, powerhouse countries like Israel, Great Britain, China and Japan will be motivated to humiliate gymnast Carlos Yulo following his double gold performance in Paris.

But there’s a way to counter that, Loyzaga said.

“Filipino sports officials have to think like athletes as well,” said Loyzaga, whose never-say-die spirit that he displayed during the gold medal match of the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, hardly faded.

“In the Asian Games, our men’s basketball team is the defending champion. So sports officials have to prepare our Gilas Pilipinas with so much pride, thinking that losing the crown is not an option. It’s not just China that we have to worry about; we also have Japan, the host country, which had a very good run in the Paris Olympics.”

“That’s the beauty of having sportsmen as sports leaders. They can prepare the athletes as if they’re the ones who are going to compete because they know and feel what they need to become successful in major international tournaments.”

Teamwork

He added that the Filipinos have a very good chance of retaining their lofty status in the international arena if all stakeholders — from the officials to the sponsors, team managers, coaches and athletes — will come together for a common goal.

“The key here is teamwork. We have to work together and be collaborative,” Loyzaga said, displaying a sweet smile when the memory of his Ginebra days under legendary coach Robert “Sonny” Jaworski came flashing.

“Like us in Ginebra back in the day, we will not be successful if we didn’t work as a team. We all have roles to play and we played it to perfection. The same thing in Philippine sports: Good things will happen if you play your role well and get everybody involved.”

As the discussion that covered a lot of areas like sports, career, personal goals and family started to wind down, Loyzaga suddenly stood up. Then, he excused himself to fish out something from his green tote bag.

“For your kids. I’m sure they will love these,” he said, handing a few bags of goodies before quietly disappearing into the weekend crowd.

It was a simple gesture that speaks volumes of his values and character not just as a sports icon, but as a person as well.

Philippine sports is truly lucky to have him.