Some members of the sportswriting press corps gets a piece of the limelight in Monday’s San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night.
A Lifetime Award in Sports Journalism will be given to former editors Recah Trinidad, Ding Marcelo, Jun Engracia, Al Mendoza, Eddie Alinea and Percy Della, while the late sports editors Joe S. Antonio and Ernie Gonzales will be honored with separate PSA Special Awards.
The traditional gala night of the country’s oldest media organization is set March 6 at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel and is presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV and ably backed 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, International Container Terminal Services Inc. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the country’s first ever Olympic gold medalist, leads the long list of 2022 awardees as she hosts her second straight Athlete of the Year trophy.
Trinidad was known for his hard-hitting “Bare Eye” column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, where he also served as one of its early editors in the 1980s. He honed his craft as a reporter for the Philippine Herald and Manila Times, before becoming the first editor of Tempo in 1982. He also worked for the Daily Express, Malaya and Sports Flash.
A product of The Dawn, the official student publication of the University of the East, Marcelo was sports editor of the Manila Bulletin until his retirement in 2017. He began his writing career with the Chronicle before transferring to Bulletin, where he was once a Malacañang beat reporter. Later on, he became news editor of Tempo, and then managing editor of Bulletin.
A runner, triathlete and health buff, Engracia was formerly news editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and worked for the Daily Express in the 1970s.
Mendoza was a three-time Palanca Awardee who began his career at the Manila Bulletin and Panorama. He joined the Philippine Daily Inquirer as sports editor and currently writes a weekly column in the BusinesMirror (That’s All) and SunStar Cebu (All Write).
Della was also a grizzled veteran in the sports beat, starting out with ABS-CBN, Times Journal and Philippine News Agency before migrating to the US and worked at City News Service and with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He became part of the California State Service as Public Information Officer and retired as spokesperson for energy under former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Alinea was the former editor of PNA, who also had extensive experience writing for the Manila Times, Bulletin, Manila Standard, Journal Group of Publications, BusinessMirror, among others.
Antonio and Gonzales both passed away last year, but also left an indelible legacy in the local sportswriting community.
Antonio, 69, was the well-respected, long-time sports editor of the People’s Journal, who began his career with the Times Journal in the mid-70s while still studying at University of the East. A diehard fan of the late action king Fernando Poe Jr., he was also the longest serving treasurer of the PSA.
Gonzales, 78, on the other hand, was the former sports editor of the Manila Chronicle and widely regarded as one of the best Filipino sportswriters.
He first worked as a sportswriter for the Daily Express, and had stints with the Manila Times and desk editor at SunStar, Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer.
