PSA to honor Delasin, Quirimit in rites

A status gap may be the only thing that divides golfer Dorothy Delasin and cyclist Arnel Quirimit.

But on the night of Jan. 9 at the Manila Pavilion, the two of them will stand side by side.

In recognition of their respective feats that helped make the year just passed a big one for local sports, Delasin and Quirimit will be feted as two of the eight major awardees by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA).

Co-Athletes of the Year Manny Pacquiao and Christian Jan Suarez lead the big achievers of 2003 to be honored by the sportswriting fraternity during the two-hour rites televised over NBN-4, sponsored by Red Bull and Agfa Colors and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and San Miguel Corp.

In attendance will be no less than the First Couple, President Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.

Meantime, PSA president Bert Cuevas said invitations to the honorees and guests, including the gold medalists in the last 22nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, have already been sent.

Those who will not get their invitations may get theirs at the reception area of the hotel’s grand ballroom during the awards night. Attire is strictly formal.

Delasin triumphed in the deceptive Magnolia course of Mobile, Alabama while Quirimit spread-eagled the field in the dusty, but mostly well-paved roads of Luzon, a testimony to the Filipino athletes’ capability to excel both locally and internationally.

Delasin, born to Filipino parents in Daly City, San Francisco, actually has been doing it for the past three years, her breakthrough victory in the Giant Eagle Classic two years before to go with her LPGA Rookie of the Year title, even earning for her the 2001 Athlete of the Year award along with billiards’ Efren "Bata" Reyes.

Although she’d win three more after that, the 23-year old Filipina experienced a long title drought, one which saw her go winless in her next 32 tournaments.

That was, until she survived Korean Hee Won Han in a sudden-death playoff to bag the LPGA Tournament of Champions last November.

"Even though I’ve won three times before, I feel like this win is like saying, ‘Hey. I’m Dorothy, and I’m still here,’" said Delasin, whose victory came barely 24 hours after boxing champion Manny Pacquiao demolished Mexican warrior Marco Antonio Barrera in a non-title fight in San Antonio, Texas.

Locally, it was Quirimit stamping his class in the revival of the Tour Pilipinas.

After a five-year hiatus, the so-called "Boys of Summer" were back on the road for a stretch of 18 days and 15 stages in the months of April and May.

Of the 84 cyclists, it was the 27-year old Quirimit, a national team mainstay, who emerged the best, beating fellow RP teammates Merculio Ramos and Ryan Tanguilig for the P250,000 cash prize and becoming the first Pangasinense after Bernard Llentada in 1991 to win the cycling odyssey.

The champion, runner-up to Victor Espiritu in the 1996 Tour edition, is a native of Pozzorubio, Pangasinan.

Quirimit later joined the RP cycling team in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, which brought home a gold medal in the 36-km cross-country event courtesy of Eusebio Quinones.

Aside from Delasin and Quirimit, also named as major awardees were Paul Asi Taulava (pro basketball), James Yap (amateur basketball), Mark Paragua (chess), Patty Dilema (Jockey of the Year) and Wind Blown (Horse of the Year).

Amateur cage standout Alex Compton and PBA courtside anchor Lala Roque will host the event.