TEN more outstanding Filipino athletes of yesteryears, led by Robert Jaworski, the “Living Legend” of basketball, and Elma Muros-Posadas, the country’s undisputed “Long Jump Queen” will be the newest additions to the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame to be presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Jaworski and Muros-Posadas will banner the 10 new inductees to the Hall of Fame based on their achievements and contributions to Philippine sports in the past eight decades from 1924 to 1994.
Joining Jaworski and Muros-Posadas are Paulino Alcantara (football), Eric Buhain (swimming), Dionisio Calvo (basketball/football), Arianne Cerdena (bowling), Gertrudes “Tuding” Lozada (swimming), Rogelio Onofre (athletics) Leopoldo Serrantes (boxing) and Roel Velasco (boxing).
PSC Chairman and PSHOF head William “Butch” Ramirez announced the list of the 10 new inductees who will be enshrined in the elite list of the greatest Filipino athletes of all time.
“It is with great pride and honor to announce the newest members of the Philippine Sports Hallf of Fame,” said Ramirez during a prepared video presentation.
“This is a good opportunity for all of us to pay tribute to these 10 great athletes, who brought honor to the country,” dded Ramirez.
Ramirez said the date and place of the formal enshrinement ceremony will be announced soon.
Ramirez said the 15-man Screening and Review Committee, which he co-chaired with Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, carefully screened and reviewed the record of achievements of the 44 nominees as early as January.
Aside from Ramirez and Tolentino, the other members of the Screening Committee are Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra, POC Secretary-General Atty. Edwin Gastanes, Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines Secretary-General Atty. Avelino Sumagui, University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Executive Director Atty. Rene Saguisag Jr., and Philippine Olympians Association president Akiko Thomson-Guevarra
The PSHOF Review and Evaluation Committee comprised of Joaquin Henson of Philippine Star, Eduardo Andaya of People’s Tonight, Lorenzo Lomibao Jr. of Business Mirror, Eriberto Talao of Manila Bulletin, Eduardo Catacutan Jr. of Spin.ph, Jose Antonio of People’s Journal, Reynaldo Bancod of Daily Tribune, and Prof. Theresa Jazmines of UP College of Mass Communication, took thorough deliberations on the accomplishments and credentials of the 44 nominees and screened it to come up with a shortlist.
All 10 Hall of Fame inductees will receive P200,000 and a finely-crafted trophy based on Republic Act 8757 signed by President Estrada on Nov. 25, 1999.
The past Hall of Fame enshrinees are:
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), Johnny 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).
Third batch ( October 2018) — Ambrosio Padilla (basketball), Filomeno “Boy” Codiñera (baseball), Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno (bowling), Olivia “Bong” Coo (bowling), Lita de la Rosa (bowling), Lydia de Vega-Mercado (athletics), Ben Arda (golf), Josephine de la Vina (athletics), Loreto Carbonell (basketball) and Erbito Salavarria (boxing).
By virtue of RA No. 8757 or the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame Act, the highest sports award-giving body has enshrined Filipino athletes, coaches, and trainers who made a valuable contribution in Philippine sports since its first induction in 2010..
Among the criteria for nomination followed was that nominees should be a gold medalist in any Southeast Asian Games, or at least a silver medalist in any Asian Games or Asian Cup, or regional games or at least a bronze medalist in any Olympic or World Games; or a titleholder or World Champion in any professional or amateur sports competition.
Athletic performance should have a wide, historic and unprecedented global impact, should have unquestionable integrity either local or abroad, before and after the event, and non-conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
“We also consider not only the accolades, but also the timeless inspiration and stories behind every nominee. At the end of the day, we want our future generation to live by the stories of our inductees,” explained Ramirez.
All 10 inductees passed the strict requirements, according to Ramirez.
Nominees who did not make the top 10 will automatically qualify for the next enshrinement.
