San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo hoists one of the four trophies he won in the 2015 Leo Awards Friday night. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.NET
Add one more accolade to the growing collection of basketball superstar June Mar Fajardo.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo will be cited as the major awardee for pro basketball by the Philippine Sportswriters Association in its Annual Awards Night presented by San Miguel and Milo on Feb. 13 at One Esplanade in Pasay City.
A dominant force inside the paint, Fajardo carried the San Miguel Beermen to back-to-back PBA Philippine Cup titles and also bagged his second straight Most Valuable Player award last season.
The native of Pinamungahan, Cebu, also took the same award last year given by the country’s oldest media organization.
Picking up the major award in amateur basketball are Rey Mark Belo and Mark Cruz of collegiate champion teams Far Eastern University and Letran, respectively.
The other major awardees include Southeast Asian Games sprint double gold medalists Eric Shauwn Cray, pool teen sensation Chezka Centeno, cycling champion Santy Barnachea, Cyna Rodriguez and Princess Superal, representing pro and amateur golf, and Superbikes rider Raniel Resuello.
Wushu world championship gold medal winners Divine Wally and Arnel Mandal, jockey Jonathan Hernandez, and the tennis pair of Katharina Lehnert and Alberto “AJ” Lim are also among the major awardees in the ceremony backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Leading the honor roll are Athlete of the Year awardees Nonito Donaire Jr. and Donnie Nietes and new Asian Tour hotshot and Philippine Open winner Miguel Tabuena.
The program, to be hosted by Quinito Henson and Patricia Bermudez-Hizon, is also supported by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Sen. Chiz Escudero, SM Prime Holdings, MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, Maynilad, National University, One Esplanade, Rain or Shine, GlobalPort, Philippine Basketball Association, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Coach Tab Baldwin and his Gilas Pilipinas team, which clinched a surprise runner-up finish in last year’s Fiba Asia Men’s Championship in Changsha, China, will receive the President’s Award, while the Wushu Federation of the Philippines earned the PSA’s nod as the National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year.
Baseball great Filomeno “Boy” Codinera will be feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alyssa Valdez clinched the Ms. Volleyball award for the second straight year, while Gilas Pilipinas standouts Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort and Calvin Abueva of Alaska will share the award for Mr. Basketball.