Juico PSA executive of the year

MANILA, Philippines -  A long-time partner and friend of Philippine sports will be recognized for his work by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) when it holds its Annual Awards Night presented by San Miguel and Milo next week at Le Pavillon in Pasay.

The country’s oldest media organization will honor sportsman Philip Ella Juico as its Executive of the Year during the Feb. 13 affair co-presented by Cignal/Hyper HD for his continuous work in developing Philippine sports.

As president of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, Juico has helped revitalize the programs of the federation, which qualified three tracksters to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

At the same time, he serves as vice president and chairman of the School and Youth Commission of the Asian Athletics Association.

He is also current chairman of the Philippine Super Liga, the semi-pro women’s volleyball league that has helped raise the popularity of the sport in the country.

Juico was chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission from 1996 to 1998.

He joins an exclusive list of personalities honored by the PSA with the same award in the past, among them Manny V. Pangilinan, Wilfred Uytengsu, Chito Salud, Hans Sy, Ricky Vargas and Dan Palami.

Rio de Janeiro silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz will be bestowed with the Athlete of the Year award during the two-hour program sponsored  by Rain or Shine, Mighty Sports, Globalport, ICTSI, Foton, Gold Toe, Phoenix Petroleum and Smart.

Asia’s first Grandmaster Eugene Torre meanwhile, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, while 16 others will receive major awards in the affair also backed by Federal Land, NLEX, Meralco, PCSO, MVP Sports Foundation, Accel, PSC, SM Prime Holdings Inc., and the PBA.