MANILA, Philippines - La Salle’s John Paul Gomez and PJ Tierro and Univ. of Santo Tomas’ Ben Alejandrino head the candidates for the Athlete of the Year award when the UAAP fetes the best performers in Season 71 tonight at the Bahay ng Alumni at UP campus in Diliman, QC.
Gomez made his mark in chess by becoming the country’s newest Grandmaster, Tierro shone in tennis where he is a member of the national team while Alejandrino sparkled in track and field where he snared a gold medal in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Games last year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Gomez clinched the GM title with a sterling performance in the 2008 World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany while clinching a record fifth MVP trophy in the sport in the UAAP.
Tierro was a member of the Davis Cup team that recently beat Hong Kong, 4-1, in their Asia/Oceania Zone Group II tie in Hong Kong.
Actually, all MVPs in their respective sports this season are automatically nominated for the highest individual plum in the league although those with victories abroad have the inside track for the coveted title.
UST will also receive its 36th seniors’ and 11th juniors’ general championships in the annual awards rites set to start at 6 p.m.
Likewise, host UP will officially turn over the hosting rights to Season 72 host Far Eastern U.
The league will also fete last year’s Athlete of the Year awardee fencer Michelle Bruzola of UE, cagers Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Ateneo and Marichu Bacaro of UST, spiker Manilla Santos of La Salle and tanker Luica Dacanay, a former UAAP athlete of the year, of UP;
Adamson’s Marvin Malig (baseball) and Cloeine Muyco (softball), UE’s Winston Aquilo (badminton) and Racquel Guerrero (badminton), La Salle’s Aices Salvador (chess), UST’s Harris Orendain (fencing), Caryn Pilongo (taekwondo), Nikki Manalo (tennis), Bernadita Mag-aso (track and field), Rey Karl Dimaculangan (volleyball), Henry James Pecaña (beach volleyball), Jurrie Bernardino (taekwondo), Glen Rodriguez (table tennis) and Mary Cres Ignacio (football);
UP’s John Edward Rances (football) and Ada Estanislao (judo), Ateneo’s Paulo Luz (judo), La Salle’s Ernest Dee (swimming), and FEU’s Beverly Villar (table tennis) and Anna Abanto (beach volley). – Joey Villar