Ayon kay PSA President Roberto Cuevas ng Manila Standard, magbi-bigay ang John Hancock Insurance Company ng tig-P50,000 kina Pacquiao at Suarez bunga ng kanilang pagwawagi ng Athlete of the Year award na ipinamamahagi taon-taon ng pinakamatan-dang media organization sa bansa.
"We, in the association, are grateful that John Hancock is giving incentives to our Athlete of the Year awardees. It’s a big honor to be a partner of this prestigious company in this worthy endeavor," pahayag ni Cuevas.
Ang nasabing magandang balita ay ipinaalam kay Cuevas kamakailan ni John Casey, ang president at CEO ng John Hancock Insurance Co. (Philippines), isang American firm na nagbibigay ng tulong sa ilang local tournaments, kabilang ang triathlon.
Ang nasabing event ay nakatakdang ganapin sa Biyernes ng gabi sa Manila Pavilion walang iba kundi ang First Couple at No. 1 supporter ng Philippine sports na si President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at First Gentleman Mike Arroyo ang inaasahang dadalo sa nasabing pagtitipon kasama ang iba pang pararangalan, mga kaibi-gan sa sports at sa sportswriting fraternity.
Kasabay nito, ipinahayag din ni Cuevas na ang mga pararangalan at iba pang panauhin na hindi pa nakakatanggap ng kani-kanilang imbitasyon ay inaabisuhan na magtungo sa reception area ng grand ballroom sa awards night upang doon kunin.
Sinabi pa rin ni Cuevas na ang mga top officials ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), National Sports Associations (NSAs), Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) at Philippine Basketball League (PBL) ay imbi-tado.
Imbitado sa pagtiti-pong ito ang mga PBA at PBL team owners, ma-nagers at coaches na iho-host ng amateur basket-ball standouts na si Alex Compton at PBA courtside anchor Lala Roque at sponsored ng Red Bull at Agfa Colors na suportado ng San Miguel Corp., POC, PSC at Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.
Narito ang kumpletong listahan ng mga awar-dees:
Athletes of the Year --Manny Pacquiao at CJ Suarez
PSA President’s Award -Liza del Rosario, Liza Clutario at Cecilia Yap.
Antonio M. Siddayao Award--Bacolod girls softball team.
Hall of Fame--Ben Arda at Celestino Tugot
Major awardees --James Yap, amateur basketball, Asi Taulava, pro basketball, Dorothy Delasin, women’s golf; Wind Blown, horse of the year; Mark Paragua, chess; Arnel Quirimit, pro cycling; Patty Dilema, horseracing; Harry Tana-mor, amateur boxing.
Citations --Steve Hontiveros, Air 21-FedEx, First Gentleman Foundation, Jojo Canare, Ronald Dableo, Philippine Amateur Track and Field Asso-ciation, Philippine Bowling Congress, Jayvee Agojo, Philippine Racing Com-mission, Samsung, Glenn Aguilar, Far Eastern U men’s basketball team, Kenneth San Andres, Dottie Ardina, Allenby Jiro Ramos, Miguel Tabuena, Ali Atienza, Cebuana Lhuillier at Rene Catalan.
Special citations: Lahat ng SEA Games gold medalists
Posthumous awards --Peter Alegre, Percela Molina, Robert Cheng, Rene Fortaleza, Manolet Araneta, Pedro Adique at Ramon Lim.