Sports leaders, heroes in PSA rites

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s top sports officials are expected to be at the forefront of a long array of guests gracing the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night presented by Coca-Cola next week at the Manila Hotel.

Invited to attend the March 1 event are long-time International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative to the Philippines Frank Elizalde, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Harry Angping.

Heads of the various National Sports Associations (NSAs) and friends and supporters of Philippine sports will also be on hand to pay their respect to the men and women athletes who did the country proud in the year just passed.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao leads the total 76 awardees to be honored by the country’s sportswriting fraternity during the two-hour rites presented by Smart, Pacific Online System Corp., the Philippine Sports Commission, Harbour Centre and Accel.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao is named Athlete of the Decade by the oldest Philippine media organization composed of sportswriters and editors from the major broadsheets and tabloids.

On the other hand, five ladies in Rubilen Amit, Marestella Torres and taekwondo trio of Cecille Alarilla, Janice Lagman and Rani Ann Ortega are the year’s recipient of the prestigious Athlete of the Year award.

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero is the special guest of honor of the annual affair.

Also high on the list of honorees are the 19 recipients of major award comprised of boxing champion Annie Albania, the billiards duo of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, the tennis pair of Cecil Mamiit and Francis Casey Alcantara and the twosome of golfers Chihiro Ikeda and Elmer Salvador.

Feted with the same award are basketball superstar JayJay Helterbrand, chess whiz Wesley So, judoka John Baylon, trackster Arniel Ferreira, cyclist Joel Calderon, jockey Jesse Guce, champion horse Don Enrico and the world champion quintet of Rodel Mayol, Nonito Donaire Jr., Marvin Sonsona, Brian Viloria and Donnie Nietes.

The 38 gold medal winners in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos make up the bulk of the awardees as they will be cited with a Special Award.

Powerlifter Patricia Llena and seven-year- old golfer Carlos Philippe Winsett Palanca are the year’s choices for the Tony Siddayao Youth Award, even as the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) is the hands down choice as National Sports Association of the Year.

Ten personalities and entities are to be handed out with citations, among them the world champion Dragon Boat team and the back-to-back UAAP men’s basketball champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, while a short tribute is going to be given to a long list of sports greats and officials who passed away last year, among them basketball and football great Eduardo Pacheco and long-time gymnastics prexy and secretary-general Sotero Tejada.