A Night of Champions

MANILA, Philippines - Teofilo Yldefonzo, Simeon Toribio, Miguel White, Lita Dela Rosa, Ben Arda and Felicisimo Ampon are just some great Filipino athletes of yesteryears who are hardly remembered by today’s generation.

Not anymore.

Thanks to the initiative of sports broadcaster Manolo “Chino” Trinidad, their greatness and that of 13 other Filipino sports icons was remembered during the “Gabi ng Pagpupugay” held at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City last June 12.

Also honored during the Independence Day gala organized by Trinidad’s Taas Noo, Inc. were bowlers Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno, Olivia “Bong” Coo and Arianne Cerdeña, boxers Pancho Villa (Francisco Guilledo), Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Ceferino Garcia, Anthony Villanueva, Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco and Manny Pacquiao, billiards maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes, chess grandmaster Eugene Torre, football legend Paulino Alcantara and basketball great Carlos “The Big Difference” Loyzaga.

The awards night was the highlight of a two-week exhibit celebrating a hundred years of Philippine sports at the lobby of the Newport Mall at the Resorts World Manila that opened last June 1. ?The murals of the 19 awardees – all made by Alfred Galvez – were displayed in the exhibit along with various works of other artists. Other items on display were medals, mementos, sports equipment, uniforms and rare vintage photographs from the Vicente Avena collection.

The awarding ceremony, hosted by veteran sports broadcaster Sev Sarmenta, kicked off with performances from The Voice Philippines grand winner Mitoy Yoting, the Mandaluyong Children’s Choir and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Trinidad’s brother Sebastian.

Past and present athletes introduced the honorees, who were each handed a trophy designed by renowned sculptor Joe Datuin.

Professional boxer Denver Cuello shared the story of Villa, who became the first Asian boxer to win a world title in 1923. WBO light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes and women’s world boxing champion Gretchen Abaniel accepted the award on his behalf.

Philippine Azkals star Chieffy Caligdong paid tribute to Alcantara and the footballer’s grandnephew Johnny Rocha accepted the award. The Iloilo-born Alcantara, who later became a doctor, was FC Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer until his long-standing record was broken by Lionel Messi earlier this year.

Sarmenta detailed the achievements of Garcia, the former world middleweight champion who was credited for introducing the vicious bolo punch in boxing.

Track and Field star Elma Muros-Posadas introduced Toribio, who won a bronze medal in high jump at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, while bemedalled swimmer Eric Buhain paid tribute to swimming icon Yldefonzo, the first Filipino to win a medal in the Olympics and the only Pinoy to win two Olympic medals (1928 and 1932).

Sarmenta narrated White’s bronze-medal feat in the 400m hurdles at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Yldefonzo and White were Army officers and both died defending their country during World War II.

The relatives of the three pre-war sports heroes accepted their trophies.

Coo, Cerdeña, Torre and Nepomuceno all gave inspiring speeches after accepting their awards. Coo, the most successful Filipino athlete in the Asian Games, talked about hard work and discipline while Cerdeña, who flew all the way from Los Angeles just to attend the event, was happy that her gold-medal feat at the 1988 Seoul Olympics has not been forgotten.

Torre, who became Asia’s first Grandmaster in 1974, emphasized the value of dedication to his chosen sport while Nepomuceno credited his late father for guiding him to a record four World Cup titles.

Coo and Cerdeña later introduced Dela Rosa and recalled her positive attitude despite playing with a heart ailment.

Dela Rosa hoisted the prestigious World Cup in Colombia in 1978 and won golds in the singles, Masters and doubles (with Coo) events in the FIQ World Championships the following year in Manila. She passed away during a heart bypass operation in 1994.

Former tennis star Felix Barrientos skipped his child’s birthday party and was honored to introduce Ampon, the greatest Filipino tennis player of all-time. Known as the Mighty Mite, the pint-sized Ampon won the Wimbledon Plate Championship in 1948 and twice reached the quarterfinals of the French Open.

The children of Arda came in full force to accept their father’s award. Dubbed as “Bantam Ben,” Arda was a three-time Philippine Open champion and the first Filipino golfer to qualify for the Masters and British Open.

Elorde’s widow, Laura, accepted his trophy and reminded the audience about the value of education in her speech. Da Flash reigned as world junior lightweight champion from 1960 to 1967.

Among the living awardees, only Pacquiao and Loyzaga failed to attend the event. Loyzaga was confined in a hospital while Pacquiao had other commitments.

The most touching scene of the night was when Trinidad paid tribute to Villanueva, who died just a few weeks before the awards night.

“Sana huling pagkakataon na makarinig ako ng aanhin pa ang damo pag patay na ang kabayo,” said an emotional Trinidad, referring to the fate of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist.

“Siya ang dahilan ng Pagpupugay na ito.”

Villanueva, who was once greeted by thousands upon his return from Tokyo, died a poor and forgotten man in Laguna after years of battling various illnesses.

A teary-eyed Trinidad hugged Villanueva’s wife Josephine as she accepted the award on his behalf along with their son Avery.  Some members of the audience, including the sporting greats, were in tears as Trinidad and the boxer’s weeping widow comforted each other on stage.

Another emotional moment was when Francisco “Django” Bustamante paid tribute to his fellow billiards great Reyes. Bustamante narrated how his kumpare encouraged him to continue playing during the 2002 World Pool Championships in Cardiff, Wales, following the death of his infant daughter. Tears flowed from the eyes of The Magician as Bustamante recalled that special moment. But the sad period instantly became a joyful event when Reyes, flashing his famous toothless smile, went up the stage to accept his award. The audience burst into laughter after Reyes narrated how he lost his dentures inside a plane during a trip abroad and never wore any again.

Velasco, who was introduced by his brother Roel, also gave the audience a comic relief when he exchanged funny side comments with Trinidad and Sarmenta. Onyok, now an actor, won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics while Roel brought home a bronze four years earlier in Barcelona. They were later joined on stage by amateur boxing standouts Mark Barriga, Josie Gabuco and Mario Fernandez, who were each presented with commemorative jackets.

Several retired athletes watched the event and all of them were recognized during the ceremony. Among them were octogenarian swimmers Jacinto and Pedro Cayco, both Olympians, and 1988 Seoul Olympics bronze medalist Leopoldo Serrantes, who proudly stood up from his wheelchair as he was being introduced to the audience.

Also in attendance were two-time world boxing champion Gerry Peñalosa, Olympian runner Claro Pellosis, swimmer Jairulla Jaitula, taekwondo jin Stephen Fernandez and football player Elmer Bedia (who made a grand entrance by running from the back row seats all the way to the stage).

Also recognized during the awards night were the Special Olympians and the Paralympians led by weightlifter and 2000 Sydney Paralympics bronze medalist Adeline Dumapong.

The finale was the presentation of past and present basketball greats. First to be called on stage were Ramoncito Campos, Tony Genato and Loreto Carbonell, who all played with Loyzaga at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. They were later joined by PBA greats Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, Danny Florencio, Yoyong Martirez and Samboy Lim. Marc Pingris and Chris Tiu represented the present crop of basketball players.

In a rare gathering of past, present and future sports greats, the inaugural Pagpupugay event was a huge success. Trinidad promised that this is just the beginning and there will be more events commemorating the greatness of Filipino athletes in the future.