Olympians to be cited in PSA rites

The Philippine Sportswriters Association will honor the 20 members of the Philippine team who competed against the world’s best athletes in last year’s Sydney Olympic Games during the PSA Awards Night on Jan. 18 at the Holiday Inn Manila.

Although they failed to win any medal for the first time in 12 years of Olympic participation, the Filipino athletes remained a source of pride and inspiration since they emerged the best in their respective disciplines following a thorough, rigid process of eliminations, including regional Olympic qualifiers.

Boxers Larry Semillano, Romeo Brin and brothers Arlan and Danilo Lerio and taekwondo jins Roberto Cruz, Eva Marie Ditan, Jasmin Strachan and Donald David Geisler, whose ambitious pre-Olympic buildup sparked hopes of a gold-medal campaign in the quadrennial games, will lead the honorees in the annual event.

President Joseph Estrada has been invited as guest of honor and is expected to present the PSA Athlete of the Year award to Fil-Am golfer Dorothy Delasin.

The 20-year-old Delasin, a three-time mainstay of the Philippine team in various international competitions, won the coveted plum over World Boxing Council champion Malcolm Tuñacao for her outstanding performance in the tough US LPGA Tour as a rookie pro.

The PSA Awards Night is sponsored by Red Bull and Agfa with support from McDonald’s.

Aside from the boxers and the jins, also to be given citations are trackster Lerma Balauitan and steeplechaser Eduardo Buenavista, archer Jennifer Chan, equestrienne Toni Leviste, rower Benjie Tolentino, shooter Rasheya Jasmin Ruiz, swimmers Miguel Mendoza, Carlo Piccio, Jenny Rose Guerrero and Liza Danila, and divers Zardo Domenios and Sheila Mae Perez. Another list of citations will be released soon.

Six other major awards will be given to the country’s top sports achievers, led by Danny Ildefonso (pro basketball), Buenaventura Villamayor (chess), Adeline Dumapong (paralympics), Angelo Barretto (motorsports) and Tunacao. The top award for amateur basketball, however, is being disputed by Ren-Ren Ritualo, Jojo Manalo and Richard Alvarez.

PSA president Lito A. Tacujan said that invitations could be obtained from the PSA reception during the awards night and reiterated that the affair, which starts at 7 p.m., will be exclusive to the members and their guests.