SCOOP honors best in RP sports Friday

The men and women, whose accomplishments, leadership and support have contributed to the growth of Philippine sports, will be honored during the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP) Annual Awards Night Friday at the Pantalan Pilipino Specialty Restaurant at the Luneta.

Leading the awardees in these categories are former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., the patriarch of San Miguel Corp., and legendary basketball guru Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan who will both be accorded the Gawad Habang Buhay Lifetime Achievements Award each.

Cojuangco will be honored for being the longest-serving benefactor, whose far-ranging involvement in sports helped in the development of the horse racing and cockfighting industries, basketball and, largely equestrian.

Dalupan, the winningest coach Philippine basketball produced with 51 championships in all level of competitions from the amateur to the professional ranks, will also be feted along with Cojuangco in this category.

To be given the Gawad Liderato for Sports Leadership are Philippine Bowling Congress president Steve Hontiveros, the first Filipino to be elected International Bowling Federation (FIQ) head, Sen. Robert Jaworski Sr., author of Republic Act 9064 otherwise known as the Sports Incentives Law, and Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain, in whose term the law was implemented.

Also to be awarded the Gawad Liderato are Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit, Philippine Amateur Track and Field chief Go Teng Kok, former World Cup and World FIQ champion Bong Coo and former Asian sprint queen and now Meycauayan, Bulacan councilor Lydia de Vega-Mercado, Manila Sports Council chair Arnold "Ali" Atienza, Airfreight 2100 chair Bert Lina, Nueva Ecija Governor and Little League Baseball-Philippines chair Tomas Joson III, Samsung Electronics Philippines president and CEO Sang Youl Eom and Herma Group of Companies chair Hermie Esguerra.

SCOOP’s long-time partners George Chua, executive vice president of Photokina Marketing, and Triple V Group of Companies president Vicvic Villavicencio, both superstars of the SCOOP Sa Kamayan Weekly Session, will be honored with the Gawad Kabisig.

Cojuangco and company join 23 athletes and teams, headed by former world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who the past year, brought honor to the country with their wins in the different sporting arenas.

Pacquiao will receive the Gawad Pancho Villa Barako, the highest recognition given by SCOOP in honor of the first Filipino and Asian world-boxing champion and Hall of Famer as Achiever of the Year.

Reigning World Cup bowling champ Christian Jan Suarez, RP’s three-woman team made-up of Lisa Clutario, Lisa del Rosario and Cecille Yap, wushu artists Alvin Ting and Rene Catalan and the Bacolod girls softball team–all world champions too–will be honored with the Ten Outstanding Pilipino Sportsman (TOPS) Awards.

Multiple gold medallists in last year’s Southeast Asian Games–Mark Paragua in chess, Marcus Valda in wrestling, Rexel Ryan Fabriga in diving, Willie Wang in wushu and Lee Van Corteza in billiard and snicker–round out the Gawad Kahusayan awardees.

Also to be handed out are the Gawad Katapangan, Gawad Bukas Landas (Vic Villafranca Memorial Trailblazers Award), Gawad Ningning and Gawad Kabataan (Sim Sotto Memorial Youth Award).