MANILA, Philippines -- It has been rumored for years that the Alaska franchise was on its way out of the PBA.

As recently as June 2020, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial had to address a report at the time alleging that the Aces would exit the league. Even then, Marcial qualified his answer, saying: "Hindi aalis ang Alaska sa PBA, as of now."

• FROM JUNE 2020: Marcial quashes rumor of Alaska's departure from league

Fast forward 20 months, and the Aces are indeed set to exit the league that they joined all the way back in 1986. It marks the end of an era in Philippine basketball as over the years, Alaska became one of the most storied franchises in the PBA, winning 14 championships including a Grand Slam.

"It's been an amazing journey, really, when you look at it," team owner Fred Uytengsu told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday morning, shortly after making the formal announcement of the team's "retirement" from the PBA.

"Thirty-five years, 31 finals appearances, 14 championships, a Grand Slam," he added. "And those are nice things to have. But I think what I treasure really the most are the relationships I built over the years, with our coaches and players."

• FULL STORY: Alaska Aces to leave PBA

Uytengsu admits that their withdrawal from the PBA has been a possibility since 2012, when Dutch multinational company FrieslandCampina acquired majority control of the Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC).

"Once we sold the company, I knew that at some point, this might be an eventuality, and it's just come to a situation where the company wants to re-focus their efforts," Uytengsu explained.

In its statement, Alaska said that the decision is aligned with the global directive of its parent company "to implement an organizational transformation that ensures long-term business sustainability."

Uytengsu acknowledged that FrieslandCampina may not hold the same views as AMC does with regards to the role that the basketball team plays in the company.

"When we started the franchise back in 1986, we believed that sports marketing was a very useful and important tool to help build the brand of Alaska," he explained. "I believe it's been a very successful tool for us. Everywhere I go, people ask about Alaska, and they ask me about the basketball team."

"The new group that comes in probably sees that a little bit differently, and doesn't necessarily see the marketing value the way we did. That's a perfectly understandable approach," he added.

"The company wants to redirect its efforts to focus on their mission statement and that's for Alaska to be the leading providers of affordable nutrition to millions of Filipinos."

Uytengsu was glad that they still stayed in the PBA for nearly a decade after FrieslandCampina took over the company. They even added one more championship to their collection, the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup title, after the acquisition by the Dutch company.

"When FrieslandCampina bought the company, they didn't have the prerogative to do that. Now, we went nine years before we came to this conclusion. And it was still a pretty good run," said the businessman.

The run is not over just because they announced their departure from the PBA. Alaska will finish the PBA Governors' Cup with Uytengsu saying that they are gunning for a 15th championship.

He also guaranteed that the organization will "do right" by all its personnel, from the coaches and players to the team staff, including the utility.

"There is never a good time to break this news, whether it was going to be a month from now, a month before. Something like this is always a difficult concept to appreciate, and I know their immediate concern is what's going to happen to me and to my career," said Uytengsu of the Alaska players.

"So, (team governor) Dickie (Bachmann) and (head coach) Jeff (Cariaso) are going to work with the players, and try to help them. We're going to do everything we can do to put ourselves in their shoes," he added.

"We've provided a support package to take care of them as well," Uytengsu said of their utility staff such as their ball boys. "Everyone in our franchise has been important, from our trainers to our ball boys."

"We recognize that, and we're doing what we can to make sure they have a livelihood package in place for them."

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