Lito Cinco

The night for sports heroes

February 5, 2025 Lito Cinco 98 views

IF THERE is one night in a year that I really look forward to, it is the Philippine Sportswiters Association (PSA) Awards night.

It is the time when those who chronicle Philippine sports put down their pens, as in the case of us older sportswriters, or shut down their laptops and cellphones for the younger ones, to finish and send their stories to their sports editors.

It is the time when sportswriters put on their best, coat and ties or barong, looking different from their daily attire of shirts , denims, and rubber shoes

It is the time when they gather at a 5 star hotel to recognize and honor our athletes who by their exploits and achievements brought glory not only to themselves but to the entire nation.

It is the time we say thank you to these athletes for allthe sacrifices they have made to deliver those gold medals and podium finishes in every part of the world where they compete with the best of the world.

It is the time to appreciate not only the athletes but also the sports officials behind them, the agencies like the Philippine Sports Commission(PSC), the private sector corporations and individuals, including lawmakers who provide their support when called upon.

And so it came to paas that last Monday, January 27, at the historic Manila Hotel, PSA President Nelson Beltran and his team gathered all these sports personalities and stakeholders for its annual awards night for the year gone by and even beyond.

And 2024 will always stand out as a milestone year , the same with 2020 Tokyo Olympics, though held in 2021, when weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won our first Olympic gold medal, while in 2024, gymnast Caloy Yulo made it a double gold finish for himself together witha pair of bronze medals from boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas in Paris.

And the PSA outdid itself by inviting all past Olympians including the pair of Freddie Webb and Jimmy Mariano, Jimmy competed in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics in Mexico and Munich while Freddie played in 1972.

And believe me it is a monumental task to have all these revered sports heroes of the distant and not so distant past to grace an event, which is why the PSA deserves all the credit for pulling together that historic night.

And for me, I enjoyed seeing all those old familiar faces I have come across for the close to five decades I have been involved in sports, meeting and making friends even with some of them.

And this is a fact even as it is also a fact as I shared with my sports editor Ed Andaya of People’s Tonight that it is the older athletes who still recognize us, not the younger ones.

And I liked the fact my old friend, no she is not that old but that I have been friends with her for a long time, Toni Yulo, who is either in Europe or the United States where she competes, was there together with co Olympians Akiko Thomson Guevara, Bea Lucero Lhuillier, Stephen Fernandez, Freddie and Jimmy, among others in one table.

And all of them, at one time or another , i have interviewed and did stories or columns on their lives and successes.

In fact Toniwas inviting me to visit her at her ranch in Lipa as she will be here in the country till next month, and maybe I will as she said she has a good story for me.

And I was among the first too, to greet and welcome awardee and senatorial candidate Benhur Abalos whom I have known since he was a Mandaluyong councilor more than 20 years ago.

And his award, two of them actually, was for champion race horse Batang Manda, at the same time as horse owner of the year.

And I can vouch for his expertise in breeding race horses as Idid a long interview with him before and he explained the science part of horse breeding.

And for Freddie, when I greeted him and reintroduced myself, his reply was that he thought I had already forgotten him, how could I when he was among my basketball idols even durung my elementary and high school years.

And of course, I made sure I had a picture taken with the pretty volleybelles from Creamline, Jema Galanza, Alyssa Valdez, Bea de Leon, and Bernadette Pons, even had a short chat with Alyssa and Ed on a possible celebrity sports column writing.

And I saw that Nesthy sure had a good time during photo ops with Alyssa and company, and with me separately of course.

And since we were all in a sports celebration, Philippine Olympic Committee(POC) President Bambol Tolentino and PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann also made it there, Bambol was the Executive of the Year awardee.

And in closing, congratulations to all the awardees, Caloy as Athlete of the Year, Hall of Famer Hidilyn, , Nesthy and Aira as special awardees, June Mar Fajardo, ,Kevin Quiambao, and Jia Morado de Guzman.

Oh, and I liked that the PSA recognized all the sports personalities that passed away in 2024, they too will be remembered.

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Congratulations to the E. Rodriguez Jr.High School Alumni Association, headed by President Ramon Ferreros of Batch 73, on its 73rd Foundation Day and Grand Alumni Homecoming on February 22-23 at the ERJHS school grounds at Mayon Ave., Quezon City.

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