Five prominent figures who have significantly shaped Philippine sports will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the San Miguel Corp. – Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) 2025 Awards Night, set for February 16 at Diamond Hotel Manila.
The honorees include the 1991 Philippine Davis Cup team, boxing’s Elorde family, basketball officiating expert Romeo “Romy” Guevara, former sports commissioner and current Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella, and Woman National Master Milagros “Mila” Emperado.
The country’s oldest media organization, led by PSA President Francis TJ Ochoa – sports editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer – will present the awards during the formal gala, co-presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and ArenaPlus.
Past Lifetime Achievement recipients over the last five years include Efren “Bata” Reyes, the late Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Joey Romasanta, Sonny Barrios, basketball legends Sonny Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Allan Caidic and Samboy Lim, coaches Dante Silverio, Turo Valenzona and Joe Lipa, and track star Elma Muros-Posadas.
Puentevella, 79, served as PSC commissioner from 1996 to 2001 before leading the national weightlifting body.
Under his stewardship, Hidilyn Diaz won the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
An alumnus of De La Salle University, he previously served as Bacolod mayor and congressman, and was inducted into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 2022.* PNA
