Cebu's Finest by Cebu's Best

An athlete, according to an individual’s point of perception, can be described in several ways. There’s the weekend warrior type, the model type, the showtime type and the real athlete in the truest meaning of the word.

The latter types almost always are determined and devoted in their chosen vocation that the only thing logical that follows is excellence. Hard work and diligence pays off that medals, trophies and the like, both foreign and domestic, are second nature to them.

Watching the grass kiss the earth in summer would be more exciting than scanning the sports section of your favorite dailies without the accomplishments of these athletes. Thru their feats, some of Cebu’s best in this journalistic field transport the reader to as close to being in the bleacher talks, experiencing fair play and feeling the game at match and full point, whether you get to stage five or survive up to the last round.

In recognition of their achievements, Cebu’s sports writing group composed of personalities with varied interests but with a common passion for all things athletic (beer drinking, by the way, is also weightlifting), has acknowledged these outstanding athletes with a simple ceremony as a token of appreciation for the blood, sweat and tears expelled in their pursuit of sporting glory.

For 30 years, the Sportswriters’ Association of Cebu (SAC), in cooperation with San Miguel Corporation, had been giving out awards to outstanding Cebuano and Cebu-based athletes, teams and individuals who had brought and given honor to Cebu and the country. SAC will have the program in the afternoon tomorrow at the Activity Center of Ayala Center Cebu.

Majority of the awardees are athletes but there are a few individuals who, with their unselfish support and dedication, sustained and uplifted the sport closest to their hearts and therefore provided the necessary logistics for the athlete’s commendable performance.

Considering the varied fields in sports and the number of athletes involved, SAC had to go through a tedious process presentation, verification and selection of nominees. And yes, several rounds of the golden liquid brewed in Mandaue.   Achievements and records of nominees for the past year are then collated and presented to the group for final deliberations.

We can’t be perfect and likewise, we can never please some. The “some” on this case will be the appealing people and the wise guys. Appealing because they like to “apil-apil” and wise guys because “wa’y sud bisan gamay” their heads, don’t have a clue how things are done. 

Sportswriters who regularly cover events always meet these types and several of our brothers and sisters in the profession entertained homicide by snapping their laptops on the heads of the appealing wise guys. The agony and ecstasy of sportswriting.

Check out Ayala Center tomorrow afternoon if you happen to be there. If you see guys looking like senators and lawyers at the impeachment trial minus the comical tantrums, that’s us. Don’t worry, if you cover your ears, you won’t be escorted out of the mall.

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