Source: PDI
MANILA—The surprising and admirable declaration came from Manny Pacquiao himself.
On a night when he could have further glorified Philippine boxing, the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter decided to put the spotlight on other sports.
“I proudly declare that there’s so much to Philippine sports than just boxing,” said Pacquiao, who was the main guest and speaker of Saturday night’s Coca-Cola Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night honoring the country’s finest sportsmen of 2010.
“Ako na mismo ang nagsasabi (I’m saying it myself), there is so much to Philippine sports than just Manny Pacquiao,” he said.
Past and present sporting greats gathered for the gala event at the Manila Hotel greeted the announcement with a wild round of applause.
Several boxing personalities headlined the annual gathering with Pacquiao—already enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame for copping the Athlete of the Year five times—serving as the first active competitor to address the annual gathering.
Amateur boxer Rey Saludar led the illustrious list of winners as one of the four Athletes of the Year after his gold-winning campaign in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, late last year.
Retired international referee Carlos “Sonny” Padilla Jr. was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the third man in the ring in many world title bouts, including the epic “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.
The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines also bagged the National Sports Association of the Year plum, while boxing champions Nonito Donaire Jr., Donnie Nietes and Ana Julaton also earned major awards.
Still, Pacquiao made special mention of other big names in other sports.
The boxing icon praised bowling’s Biboy Rivera and billiards’ Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, all first time Athletes of the Year winners along with Saludar.
Pacquiao acknowledged legendary basketball coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, and admitted he has joined the nationwide Azkals’ fan craze.
The Azkals, the endearing moniker of the national football team, earned the Presidential Achievement Award for their recent surprising success.
“Before, I was not interested in football,” Pacquaio said in Filipino. “But now that we have a team [that’s winning], I’ve started to like it. I used to root for Mexico in football, but now I’m for the Philippines. I hope they always win.”
Pacquiao also thanked in jest Padilla, the referee in his 2000 fight where he got up from a knockdown and stopped Australia’s Nedal Hussein in the 10th round.
“I got knocked down, but he counted slowly, which favored me,” Pacquiao recounted as the ballroom rocked with laughter. But in the end, the country’s most beloved sports icon issued a challenge to his fellow athletes.
“There’s so much to be done to improve the condition of Philippine sports,” said Pacquiao, who’s also a Sarangani representative.
“As athletes, let’s do what we can in order to achieve a holistic quality of life that exceeds beyond our athletic careers.”
Download our free toolbar here
MANILA—The surprising and admirable declaration came from Manny Pacquiao himself.
On a night when he could have further glorified Philippine boxing, the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter decided to put the spotlight on other sports.
“I proudly declare that there’s so much to Philippine sports than just boxing,” said Pacquiao, who was the main guest and speaker of Saturday night’s Coca-Cola Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night honoring the country’s finest sportsmen of 2010.
“Ako na mismo ang nagsasabi (I’m saying it myself), there is so much to Philippine sports than just Manny Pacquiao,” he said.
Past and present sporting greats gathered for the gala event at the Manila Hotel greeted the announcement with a wild round of applause.
Several boxing personalities headlined the annual gathering with Pacquiao—already enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame for copping the Athlete of the Year five times—serving as the first active competitor to address the annual gathering.
Amateur boxer Rey Saludar led the illustrious list of winners as one of the four Athletes of the Year after his gold-winning campaign in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, late last year.
Retired international referee Carlos “Sonny” Padilla Jr. was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the third man in the ring in many world title bouts, including the epic “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.
The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines also bagged the National Sports Association of the Year plum, while boxing champions Nonito Donaire Jr., Donnie Nietes and Ana Julaton also earned major awards.
Still, Pacquiao made special mention of other big names in other sports.
The boxing icon praised bowling’s Biboy Rivera and billiards’ Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, all first time Athletes of the Year winners along with Saludar.
Pacquiao acknowledged legendary basketball coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, and admitted he has joined the nationwide Azkals’ fan craze.
The Azkals, the endearing moniker of the national football team, earned the Presidential Achievement Award for their recent surprising success.
“Before, I was not interested in football,” Pacquaio said in Filipino. “But now that we have a team [that’s winning], I’ve started to like it. I used to root for Mexico in football, but now I’m for the Philippines. I hope they always win.”
Pacquiao also thanked in jest Padilla, the referee in his 2000 fight where he got up from a knockdown and stopped Australia’s Nedal Hussein in the 10th round.
“I got knocked down, but he counted slowly, which favored me,” Pacquiao recounted as the ballroom rocked with laughter. But in the end, the country’s most beloved sports icon issued a challenge to his fellow athletes.
“There’s so much to be done to improve the condition of Philippine sports,” said Pacquiao, who’s also a Sarangani representative.
“As athletes, let’s do what we can in order to achieve a holistic quality of life that exceeds beyond our athletic careers.”
