10 ‘greatest athletes’ sa PSC Hall-of-Fame

KINILALA ng Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) ang galing, husay at kontribusyon ng 10 atleta na maituturing alamat sa kani-kanilang sports sa nakalipas na pitong dekada.

Sa nagkakaisang desisyon, napili ang 10 ‘greatest athletes’ ng kanilang henerasyon, sa pangunguna nina basketball great Ambrosio Padilla at baseball legend Filomeno “Boy” Codiñera, upang mailuklok sa Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.

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Gaganapin ang pormal na pagbibigay parangal sa seremonya sa Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) sa susunod na buwan.

Pinangunahan ni Padilla, bilang team captain, ang Philippine basketball team, na tumapos sa ikalimang puwesto sa 1936 Berlin Olympics, habang si Codiñera, an unang Filipino player na kinilala ng Guinness Book of Word Records matapos makaiskor na pitong sunod na doubles sa 1968 Men’s Softball World Championship sa Oklahoma City.

Pinangunahan ng dalawa ang bagong batch matapos ang mahigit tatlong buwan delibirasyon ng mga kinatawan ng PSC, at iba pang sports community.

Kinikilala bilang Father of Philippine basketball si Padilla nang itatag ang Basketball Association of the Phililippines (BAP) noong 1936, habang si Codiñera ay hindi rin malilimot sa kahanga-hangang grand slam home kontra Mexico noong 1972 Men’s Softball World Championship ng Marikina.

Pinangunahan  ni PSC Chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez ang 10-member screening and review committee.

“It is with pride that I announce the 10 newest members of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame,” pahayagni Ramirez sa isinahawang media conference sa Rizal Memorial Sports Center.

Itinakda ang induction ceremony sa Nov.22, ganap na 6:00 ng gabi sa PICC. T

Kasama rin sa grupo sina four-time World Cup champion Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno, 1978 Asian Games gold medalist Olivia “Bong” Coo at 1979 FIQ gold medalist Lita de la Rosa.

Napili rin sina two-time Asian Games sprint champion Lydia de Vega-Mercado, golf giant Ben Arda, track and field star Josephine de la Vina, basketball hero Loreto Carbonell at boxing champion Erbito Salavarria.

Itinututring pinakamatagumpay na bowler si Nepomuceno tangan ang apat na World Cup titles (1976, 1980, 1992 at 1996);si Coo ay gold medal winner sa 1978 Asian Games sa Thailand at World FIQ noong 1979 sa Manila; nagwagi si De la Rosa sa World Cup sa Bogota, Colombia inoong 1978; habang si De Vega ang Asia’s fastest woman noong 1982 Asian Games sa New Delhi, India;

Nanguna si Arda sa Asia Golf Circuit noong 1970 at World Cup qualifier sa 16 na ulit; De la Vina ay gold medalist sa 1966 Asian Games at 1973 Asian Championships; si Carbonell ay gold medalist sa 1958 Tokyo Asian Games at 1960 Manila FIBA Asia Championships; at si Salavarria ang flyweight boxing king mula 1970 hanggang 1975.

Bukod kina Ramirez, miyembro rin ng PSC Sports Hall of Fame screening and review committee sina Games and Amusement Board (GAB) chairman Baham Mitra, Akiko Thomson of the Philippine Olympian Association; Ed Piczon, Bernie Atienza and Pearl Managuelod, ng Philippine Olympic Committee (POC); at kinatawan ng Philippine Sportswriters Association at Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports, Inc. (TOPS).

Tatanggap ang mga awardee ng P100,000 at trophy.

Nabuo ang hall-of-fame batay sa Republic Act 8757 na nilagdaan ni dating Pangulong Joseph Estrada noong  Nov. 25, 1999.

Ang mga naunang Hall of Fame awardees ay sina  First batch (May , 2010) --Simeon Toribio (athletics), Miguel White (athletics), Carlos Loyzaga (basketball), Ceferino Garcia (boxing), Gabriel Elorde (boxing), Jose Villanueva (boxing) Pancho Villa (boxing), Anthony Villanueva (boxing), Teofilo Yldefonso (swimming) and the 1954 Philippine men’s basketball team.

Second batch (January 2016) -- Inocencia Solis (athletics), Isaac Gomez (athletics), Mona Sulaiman (Athletics), Ed Ocampo (basketball), Kurt Bachmann (basketball), Mariano Tolentino (basketball), Eugene Torre (chess), Raymundo Deyro (tennis), Jonny Jose (tennis), Felicisimo Ampon (tennis), Adolfo Feliciano (shooting), Martin Gison (shooting), Ral Rosario (swimming), Mohammad Mala (swimming), Jacinto Cayco (swimming), Haydee Coloso-Espino (swimming) and Salvador del Rosario (weightlifting).