Boxer Nonito Donaire Jr. and Donnie Nietes and golfer Miguel Tabuena share the spotlight tonight as the best and brightest of Philippine sports in 2015 get due recognition in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night presented by Milo and San Miguel Corp.
The awards gala at One Esplanade in Pasay City starts at 7 p.m. with sportsman and businessman Wilfred Uytengsu Jr. keynoting the program.
As world champions in their respective divisions, Donaire and Nietes will be awarded with the top individual honor as Athlete of the Year along with Tabuena, the former jungolf star who carved his niche with a maiden win in the Asian professional golf circuit last year with a victory in the Philippine Open.
It will mark the fourth time that the 33-year-old Donaire will be receiving the honor while Nietes and Tabuena are first-time winners.
A total of 111 athletes and personalities are in the honor roll as the country’s sportswriting fraternity celebrates another year of triumphs in Philippine sports.
Uytengsu, whose company Alaska Milk is one of the biggest supporters of sports in the country, will receive the Executive of the Year award while a Gilas Pilipinas squad that finished second in the Fiba Asia Championship last year will get the President’s Award.
The country’s top sports leaders, including Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. and Philippine Sports Commission Chair Ricardo Garcia, are expected to attend the gala hosted by sportscasters Patricia Bermudez-Hizon and Quinito Henson.
The PSA will also honor baseball and softball great Filomeno “Boy” Codiñera with a Lifetime Achievement trophy, while the Wushu Federation of the Philippines will be awarded the National Sports Association of the Year.