By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Seven sporting greats will be enshrined into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, with a special ceremony fitting for heroes set on May 20 at a venue yet to be announced.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino disclosed this on Wednesday, March 25, adding that the new batch of inductees will be officially named right after Holy Week next month.
The seven sporting legends, selected from an original pool of 75 athletes, will also receive P500,000, a P200,000 increase from what earlier Filipino Hall of Famers received.
“As early as nine months ago when I took office, I gave instructions to resuscitate the Hall of Fame for our athletes who gave our country honor in the past,” said Gregorio during a media briefer at the Tagaytay City Velodrome.
“These seven came from the initial list of 75 that was trimmed down to 15 before the final screening committee identified the final seven,” Tolentino, for his part, added.
Since the passage of Republic Act No. 8757 some 27 years ago, the Hall has welcomed 47 extraordinary men and women, including basketball greats Carlos Loyzaga and Robert Jaworski, boxing icons Pancho Villa and Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, swimming pioneer Teofilo Yldefonso, chess stalwart Eugene Torre, and bowling legends Paeng Nepomuceno and Bong Coo.
That elite roster is set to grow to 54 in two months.
Gregorio and Tolentino spearheaded the seven-man selection committee, which led the search for the latest additions to the growing roster of Filipino sports figures.
