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PBA: From milk to coffee, why Alaska at one point became known as Hills Bros

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Rey Joble

<p>It was 1987 and Alaska just completed a season of participation in the PBA, but on its 2nd year the company was forced to carry a different brand.</p><p>A strike in the company forced Wilfred Uytengsu to bring Hills Brothers in the PBA, as carrying Alaska that year wouldn&#x27;t have given the squad a positive vibes for its campaign.</p><p>On the court, the Hills Brothers Coffee Kings made their presence felt.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/16/22/pba-sadness-pride-felt-as-alaska-legends-reminisce">‘One big family’: Legends recall Alaska time with sadness, pride as franchise folds</a></li></ul><p>They made a good run during the 1987 season, reaching the championship round of the All-Filipino and the Third Conference, but lost to their more seasoned rivals.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/16/22/ginebras-cone-proud-of-his-years-with-alaska">Ginebra&#x27;s Cone proud of his years with Alaska</a></li></ul><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CaBU63UgtpA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div 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transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CaBU63UgtpA/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Alaska Aces (@alaska_aces)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>With William &quot;Bogs&quot; Adornado joining the squad that year and becoming the focal point of the team&#x27;s offense, the Coffee Kings became a legitimate title contender in the All-Filipino Conference.</p><p>It was also during that season that Hills Brothers formed its new fearsome twosome up front.</p><p>Yoyoy Villamin, who joined the squad to team up with Ricky Relosa following the disbandment of Manila Beer, allowed the Coffee Kings to retool their front court.</p><p>With Villamin and Relosa taking care of business on both ends of the court, the two formed the dreaded “Bruise Brothers” tandem, which spelled bad news for the opposing teams.</p><p>In the elimination round, Hills Brothers and its coffee rival, Great Taste, both ended up on top with identical 5-3 slates and by the end of the semifinals the Coffee Kings secured the No.1 seed.</p><p>The Coffee Makers finished second and earned the right to face the Coffee Kings in the best-of-5 championship series.</p><p>But in the finals, the more experienced Coffee Makers showed their might as Philip Cezar, Abe King, Ricardo Brown, Atoy Co, Bernie Fabiosa, Joy Carpio and then rookie Allan Caidic proved too much on the offensive end, sweeping their rivals in 3 games.</p><p>Looking back, Relosa, who had his finest seasons playing for the old Alaska franchise as Most Improved Player in 1986 and All-Defensive Team member in 1987, never imagined that he will garner such citations.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ko iniisip kasi ako trabaho lang talaga,&quot; Relosa said. &quot;Para sa akin kasi ’yung basketball, ito ’yung trabaho ko. Sinuwerte lang ako siguro napasama ako dito.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Gumaling ako sa depensa kasi nu’ng nasa NCC kami, under Ron Jacobs, na-train ako ng husto kaya pagpasok ko sa PBA, ang binabantayan ko panay import. Pero ’yung nakapasok kami sa championship round at nagkaroon ako ng individual awards, medyo sinuwerte lang talaga siguro.&quot;</p><p>In the 1987 Third Conference, Hills Brothers found a gem of an import in Jose Slaughter, who registered a record 14 3-point shots in one game during the tournament.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/18/21/this-day-in-pba-history-remember-jose-slaughter">This Day in PBA History: Slaughter hits record 14 3-pointers for Hills Bros.</a></li></ul><p>In the semifinals, the Coffee Kings found themselves fighting in a playoff for the last finals berth against Billy Ray Bates and Ginebra San Miguel, and Hills Brothers prevailed in a cliffhanger, 89-87.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/16/22/alaska-owner-explains-decision-to-leave-pba">Alaska owner explains decision to leave PBA</a></li></ul><p>Standing in their way in the championship round were the San Miguel Beermen led by Bobby Parks and their talented core from the old NCC team such as Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Yves Dignadice, Franz Pumaren, Tonichi Yturri and Elmer Reyes among others and veteran Abet Guidaben, who had another MVP season.</p><p>Parks became the Best Import, Guidaben won his second MVP award and head coach Norman Black bagged the first of his many championships, as San Miguel Beer romped away with 4-1 series win over Hills Brothers.</p><p>Hills Brothers went on to the finals twice that season and Adornado had a fitting way of capping a brilliant career as the organization retired his jersey.</p><p>Whatever name it carried, the Uytengsu club showed its drive to excel and it demonstrated that under Hills Brothers.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1929960" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Whether the team was dubbed the Coffee Kings or the Milkmen, the Uytengsu franchise always showed its determination to excel.