BMX rider Caluag PSA Athlete of the Year

MANILA, Philippines—The saving grace of the country’s Asian Games campaign last year is getting another accolade for his golden performance in Incheon, South Korea.

BMX rider Daniel Caluag will be feted as Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in its Annual Awards Night presented by Milo on Feb. 16 at 1Esplanade at Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay.

The 27-year-old Caluag was the lone gold medalist of what was an otherwise gloomy campaign by the country in the Asiad. His triumph in BMX racing on the final few days of the Games was actually the first cycling gold medal of the country in the meet.

“The entire PSA organization congratulates Daniel Caluag as the recipient of the 2014 Athlete of the Year honor with his exemplary feat during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea,” said PSA president Jun Lomibao of Business Mirror.

The Filipino-American BMX racer will lead some 70 prominent sports personalities and entities that will be honored during the awards night backed by ICTSI, Philippine Basketball Association, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Rain or Shine, Globalport, Air21, Maynilad, Accel and National University.

This year’s honor roll will include the 1973 Philippine men’s basketball team (Lifetime Achievement Award), Tim Cone (Excellence in Basketball), Hall of Fame (Mitsubishi), Alyssa Valdez (Ms. Volleyball), Jean Pierre Sabido (Mr. Taekwondo), and Princess Superal and Tony Lascuña (Golfers of the Year).

The PSA will also hand out the President’s Award, Executive of the Year, Sports Patron of the Year, National Sports Association of the Year, the Tony Siddayao Awards for outstanding athletes 17 years old and younger, Posthumous, and the Milo Outstanding Athletes.

Caluag blitzed the Asiad field despite his absence in races sanctioned by the UCI (Union Cycliste International) last year, making sure the 160-strong Philippine team averted a gold-medal shutout.

Major awards and citations will also be handed out by the country’s oldest media organization with Smart, Meralco, and the MVP Sports Foundation as principal sponsors and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) as major sponsor of the formal event.