Meneses, Paras, Johnson week’s sportsmen

FedEx star Vergel Meneses removes his own jacket and wraps it around the shoulders of a handicapped child, bringing warmth and a big smile on the face of the kid during a cold afternoon in one PBA outreach program in Baguio City.

Benjie Paras, a veteran slotman at San Miguel Beer with a second career as a television and movie actor, has school kids at the Marcelo H. Del Pilar High School rolling in laughter with his natural flair for comedy.

Ginebra guard Rob Johnson dishing off his best moves on a dance floor he shared with elementary students at a Lipa City public school.

These players have just become the first recipients of the Sportsman of the Week citation, an award put up by the First Gentleman Foundation.

Meneses, Paras and Johnson are part of the first two batches of awardees, all automatic candidates for the Sportsman of the Year citation that will be given out by the league and the FG Foundation at yearend.

"These players are an asset not only to the PBA but to the country, and the FG Foundation is happy to recognize their deeds, in the hope that more athletes would follow their shining example," said First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

Other awardees, all chosen during the league’s outreach programs organized in conjunction with road games held around the country during the last three moths, are as follows.