EJ Obiena had a 2023 to remember. —REUTERS/Jeremy Lee
The cream of the crop of Philippine sports in the year that passed will be feted in a celebration like no other with the staging of the 2023 edition of the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night on Monday at the grand ballroom of Diamond Hotel.
Asian record holder and the world’s second-ranked pole vaulter, Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, is the biggest star of the night as the sole recipient of the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award exclusively handed out by the country’s oldest media organization.
Led by PSA president Nelson Beltran, the sports editor of The Philippine Star, the sports writing fraternity is going to honor a total of 140 awardees in what is considered the biggest Awards Night in the 75-year history of the association.
The country’s top sports officials led by Philippine Sports Commission chair Richard Bachmann and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino will lead the entire sports community in toasting the athletes, personalities and entities who did the country proud the previous year.
Basketball heroes
Gilas Pilipinas, which brought pride and immense joy to this basketball-crazy nation after ending a 61-year wait in winning the Asian Games (Asiad) gold medal, is also going to be a huge part of the festivity as it will be bestowed the President’s Award, while the Philippine women’s national football team that made a historic debut in the Fifa (International Federation of Football Associations) Women’s World Cup, will be recognized with the “Golden Lady Booters” Special Award.
Also lending their precious time to join the celebration are two of the country’s top businessmen and sportsmen in SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang, and First Pacific Company chairman and CEO Manny V. Pangilinan, who are both going to be honored as Executives of the Year for working hand in hand in the successful hosting of the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) World Cup and regaining the valuable basketball gold during the 19th Asiad in Hangzhou, China.
Adding nostalgia for the night is the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to basketball legends Allan Caidic and the late Avelino “Samboy” Lim, and champion coaches Dante Silverio, Joe Lipa and Arturo Valenzona.
Asiad gold medal winners Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa and Annie Ramirez lead the recipients of Major Awards, while the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and Jiu-Jitsu Federation of the Philippines are co-winners of the National Sports Associations of the Year.