TOP achievers in 2016 will hog the spotlight once more as the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) honors the year’s best and brightest during its annual Awards Night, presented by Milo and San Miguel Corp., on February 13 at the Le Pavilion in Pasay City.
Hidilyn Diaz, who ended the country’s 20-year medal drought in the Olympics by clinching a weightlifting silver in Rio de Janeiro, looms as the leading choice for the coveted Athlete of the Year award during the formal affair copresented by Cignal/Hyper TV.
Last year pro boxers Nonito Donaire Jr. and Donnie “Ahas” Nietes, along with golfer Miguel Tabuena, were honored as co-Athletes of the Year by the Philippines’s oldest media organization composed of editors and sportswriters from print and online portals.
President Duterte has been invited to be the guest speaker.
The PSA will also give out the President’s Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Executive of the Year, National Sports Association of the Year, Mr. Basketball, Mr. Golf, Mr. Football and Ms. Volleyball during the two-hour program backed by Smart, Foton, Mighty Sports, Philippine Basketball Association, Accel, Gold Toe, SM Prime Holdings Inc., GlobalPort, Rain or Shine, International Container Terminal Services Inc. and MVP Sports Foundation.
Athletes who earned berths to Rio by undergoing rigid qualifying tournaments will also be cited. They are athletics’ Eric Cray, Marestella Torres and Mary Joy Tabal, weightlifter Nestor Colonia, table tennis player Ian Lariba, boxers Roger Ladon and Charly Suarez, taekwondo jin Kirstie Alora and Tabuena.
The PSA will also recognize major awardees in different sports and give out citations to various personalities and entities in the annual ceremony also backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Federal Land.
Not to be missed out are the young athletes who will be feted through the Tony Siddayao Awards and the Milo Male and Female Junior Athletes of the Year.