Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will be the guest of honor and speaker when the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) pays tribute to this year’s best and brightest Filipino athletes during its Annual Awards Night on Jan. 25, 2014.
This marks the second time the 35-year-old eight-time world champion and congressman from Sarangani will lend prestige to the faffair whose highlight is the presentation of the Athlete of the Year award.
Pacquiao, who dominated Brandon Rios in his comeback fight on Nov. 23 in Macau, played the same role during the 2011 awards night.
Himself a five-time Athlete of the Year, Pacquiao was elevated to the PSA Hall of Fame in 2009. He was also named Athlete of the Decade in 2010.
A cinch to the Hall of Fame, Pacquiao is expected to personally hand out the highest honor given by the PSA in partnership with Smart Sports, MILO,Philippine Sports Commission, Air21, Globalport, Philippine Basketball Association, Accel, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, and Rain or Shine.
Fiba-World Cup-bound Gilas Pilipinas basketball team and world pool champions Rubilen Amit, Dennis Orcollo, and Lee Van Corteza are the leading candidates for the Athlete of the Year award.