The San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night is set to honor a number of outstanding athletes in the Philippines. Carlos Yulo, EJ Obiena, and the Philippine women’s football team will be among the major award recipients during the event, which will take place at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel on March 6.
Yulo made history at the 51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool, England, where he secured a silver medal in the men’s vault and a bronze in the parallel bars.
Photo by @anais_bellier
Meanwhile, Obiena made waves at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon by setting a new Asian-high mark of 5.94 meters and earning a bronze in the pole vault event.
The Philippine women’s football team also made their mark by earning a ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time ever, following their third-place finish at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup under coach Alen Stajcic.
Alongside Yulo, Obiena, and the women’s football team, other athletes will also receive major awards, including Carlo Paalam (boxing), Meggie Ochoa and Kimberly Anne Custodio (jiu-jitsu), Junna Tsukii (karate), Rubilen Amit, Carlo Biado, and Johann Chua (pool), Vanessa Sarno (weightlifting), Jovelyn Gonzaga and Sisi Rondina (beach volleyball), Blacklist International (esports-ML), Jessie Guca (jockey), and Boss Emong (horse).
The coveted Athlete of the Year award will be given to Hidilyn Diaz, the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist, for the second year in a row.
Aside from his world championship performance, Yulo also dominated the 9th Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar, where he won three gold medals in the vault, parallel bars, and floor exercise, as well as a silver in the all-around event. His impressive feats earned him an outright berth in the World Artistic Gymnastics competition. At the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, Yulo became the most bemedalled athlete of Team Philippines with five gold medals in artistic all-around, floor exercise, still rings, vault, and horizontal bar.
Obiena also had a successful year, topping pole vault tournaments in Europe and retaining his gold medal in the Vietnam SEA Games, where he set a new meet record of 5.46 meters at the My Dinh National Stadium.
The Philippine women’s football team continued their winning streak by claiming their first-ever title in the ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Championship, where they defeated four-time champion Thailand 3-0 in the gold medal play.
The SMC-PSA Awards Night is presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV, and is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino, MILO, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Rain or Shine, 1Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero, Philippine Basketball Association, OKBet, and ICTSI.
