Sports history

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Wishing all of you good health and prosperity as we welcome the year of the rabbit!

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Three individuals and a team are now being considered for enshrinement into the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame. The committee doing the screening, which we are a part of, is just double-checking the information submitted.

Those who have nominees for enshrinement can continue to submit their names and supporting documents to the Cebu City Sports Commission office at the grandstand of the Cebu City Sports Center.

If your nominee failed to make it to the enshrinement set later this month, there is always next year’s enshrinement and the succeeding years.

The past 21 years, a total of 113 individuals and three teams have been enshrined in 15 ceremonies that were held starting with the first one in 1990.

I have attended most of the enshrinement rites, but also missed several of them as the ceremony coincides with the annual Philippine Airlines Interclub.

This year, we have scheduled the enshrinement rites on February 16 at the social hall of Cebu City Hall.

The Cebu Sports Hall of Fame was established ahead of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame and has many of the biggest names in various fields.

This Hall of Fame is proof of Cebu’s contribution to Philippine sports.

After this enshrinement, the Cebu Sports Museum should be the next thing that we would be helping out with. This project is going to be headed by my fellow sports columnist and cousin, John Z. Pages.

He has already looked at a few sites inside the sports center for this museum.

While we’re also waiting to set this up, I hope that those who may have some things to contribute can start preparing them.

The museum shall be a good place to let the next generations learn about our sporting history.

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There have been many names suggested to us for enshrinement into the sports hall of fame, but unfortunately, there were no documents submitted to help the screening committee.

To reiterate, those who carried the country’s colors in international competitions like the Olympics, Asian Games, and Southeast Asian Games are qualified, but that is not the only requirement.

There are also those who never saw action internationally, but are considered as legends in their field.

These nominees must also be either native-born Cebuanos or have made a name for himself as a Cebu resident. These are the special honorees.

I am very sure that there are many more qualified to be enshrined into the hall of fame, but we need your help to make this happen.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings go to my cousin Joyce Lebumfacil-Manigsaca, who turns a year older today. The same goes to my mistah Lt. Col. Vicente Sarap, mare Cora Coronado-Seno, Holly Dale Bandala, and fellow UPian Snyder Su.

Advance greetings to those celebrating tomorrow – auntie Bebe Cotejo-Iway, Arnel Ceriola, ABS-CBN’s Junrey Nadela, Liberty Pinili, Charie Liaz, and Armando Gaviola.

Congratulations to Jose and Darmae Maningo Tan, who are the proud parents of the recently born Jose Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Tan.

More power to all of you!