Young cager, golfer to receive Siddayao award

MANILA, Philippines - A teenage basketball player and a kid golfer will be the recipient of the Tony Siddayao Awards during the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night on Feb. 20 at the Alegria Lounge of the Manila Pavilion Hotel.

Fil-Am Norberto Torres and junior golfer AR Ramos got the nod of the country’s oldest media organization as deserving winners of the award given to young and promising athletes who excelled in their respective sports.

The Antonio Siddayao award is named after the late former Manila Standard sports editor considered as the Dean of Philippine Sportswriting.

The 6-foot-7 Torres starred for the Nokia RP Youth team that swept the SEABA junior men’s championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while Ramos, a former US Kids titlist, served as the saving grace of the Philippines’ campaign in the 29th Asia-Pacific Junior Golf Championship.

The two join past winners of the award such as Wesley So, Dottie Ardina, Mia Legaspi, Cyna Rodriguez, Marcel Puyat and the RP Junior Wushu team bestowed upon them by the PSA during its yearly awards rite sponsored by the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

Torres and Ramos are part of the 60-plus awardees to be feted for their sterling performances in 2008.

Heading the honor roll list is Manny Pacquiao, the boxing sensation from General Santos City who was unbeaten in all three fights last year, including a stunning eighth round technical knockout of legendary ring icon Oscar dela Hoya.

Eleven personalities, meanwhile, will be conferred with the major award. Among them are Kelly Williams (pro basketball), Willy Wang (wushu), Dennis Orcollo (billiards), Wesley So (chess), Nonito Donaire (pro boxing), Dottie Ardina, Jennifer Rosales, Dorothy Delasin and Angelo Que (golf), Jonathan Hernandez (horseracing) and Go Army and Ibarra (horseracing).

Torres, 19, powered the under-18 team to the SEABA juniors title following a four-game sweep of the meet which the Filipinos won by a whopping 42.2-point margin.

The win qualified the country for the FIBA-Asian junior men’s championship in Tehran, Iran.

Torres is from Bulacan and a standout at the Theresa High School in Canada where he is based.

Ramos, meanwhile, clinched the boys’ 11-12 years title in the AsPac Jungolf Championship by beating Angelo Gandionco for a 1-2 finish for the Filipinos. The young golfer matched Gandionco’s three-round total of 225, necessitating a countback and then prevailed with a last nine score of 38 against the 40 of Gandionco.

Also supporting the PSA Annual Awards Night are the Villar Foundation, Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Shakey’s, Accel, PBA, PBL, NCRAA, PCSO, SBP, Purefoods, Ginebra, Alaska, Sta. Lucia, Rain or Shine, Ever Bilena, Harbour Centre, Liga Pilipinas, Secretary Lito Atienza, Pharex, GAB and Mighty Sports Association.