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A GROUP
of young wushu artists and a scion of the sporting Puyat
clan made up this year’s Tony Siddayao awardees to be
feted during the San Miguel Corp. (SMC)-Philippine
Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Rites at the SM
Mall of Asia on February 16.
Jungolfer Marcel Puyat and the Philippines’ Junior Wushu
Team are this year’s recipients of the prestigious Tony
Siddayao Award, given to the most outstanding young
athletes of the year that has just passed.
The
award is in honor of the late Tony Siddayao, former PSA
president and sports editor and acclaimed as the Dean
of Filipino sportswriters.
Last
June, Puyat, one of the country’s up-and-coming young
athletes making waves in the world of jungolf, rallied
with a 31 at the backside as he fired a four-under-par
68 and posted a four-stroke victory in the Mercedes
Junior Golf Championship at the tough par-72 Rose Garden
Golf Course in Thailand.
Saving
his best for last, Puyat struck for five birdies in the
last seven holes for that 68, battling back from two
shots down and beating Thai Thammanoon Koonmark by four
shots for the Under-14 crown.
Puyat,
one of the members of the ICTSI-backed national pool,
finished the 54-hole tournament with a 223 that included
rounds of 79 and 76.
The
junior wushu artists, on the other hand, captured two
gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the fourth
Asian Junior Wushu Championship in Yeongju, South Korea,
to once again prove the Philippine dominance in the
Chinese martial arts.
Leading
the charge were Mary Stepanie Agbay (taijisword) and
Henson John See (cudgel), who provided the gold medals
for the Filipinos.
“We hope
that the achievements of the junior wushu team and Puyat
will further inspire young athletes to aim for
world-class excellence in their chosen sports,” said PSA
president Aldrin Cardona of the Daily Tribune.
Backed
by SMC, the two-hour event is also supported by SM Mall
of Asia, Shakey’s, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC),
Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and
Accel. The awards rites, to be broadcast by dzSR Sports
Radio 918, can also be seen through the Internet by
typing www.pbs.gov.ph. and clicking the sportsradio
icon.
Nominated for the prestigious Athlete of the Year award
are boxing champions Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire
Jr., Southeast Asian Games Best Athlete swimmer Miguel
Molina, professional golfer Frankie Miñoza, young chess
Grandmaster Wesley So and reigning 8-ball world titlist
Ronnie Alcano.
Gold
medal winners in the last 24th Southeast Asian Games
will also be cited by the country’s oldest and most
prestigious media organization founded in 1949.
Basketball stars Mark Caguioa and Jason Castro, together
with jockey Patti Dilema and Es Twenty Six had already
been named major awardees in their respective sports.
Other
major awardees and citations will be announced later as
the PSA board is still in the process of finalizing its
honorees. |
