18th SKC Sports Awards tonight

INVITATIONS have been sent out. The stage is set as Davao City's outstanding athletes, sports leaders and major sports backers from Jun 16, 2011 to June 15, 2012 are feted in the 18th So Kim Cheng Sports Awards Night at the Grand Regal Hotel at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Three of the four athletes of the year: swimmer Jose Joaquin "Joboy" Gonzalez, who is vacationing here while on summer break from the University of Hawaii, and Davao City-based chesser Austin Jacob Literatus and triathlete Mary Pauline Fornea, are excited to receive their awards in person while Manila-based judoka Jenilou Mosqueda is going to be a no-show.

Mosqueda, in text messages to Sun.Star Davao, said in the vernacular: "I would have really wanted to claim my award to thank the organizers personally but I will have to ask my mother to receive the award on my behalf."

Mosqueda, who is a gold medalist in the 2012 POC-PSC National Games in Dumaguete City and bronze medalist in the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia, is currently on training in preparation for next year's SEA Games in Myanmar.
Tonight's affair is historic in itself as this year's edition of the annual sports awards is giving out athletes of the year recognitions in two categories - Davao-based and non-Davao-based for both male and female.

It is also the first time for Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. owner and president Dennis Uy and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Mindanao Cluster B director Regino "Boy" Cua to be named as sports leadership awardees.
Mayor Duterte-Carpio, who is serving her last year as the city's chief executive, is cited for her strong leadership in organizing sports competition and supporting the plans and programs of the Davao City Sports Council, Inc.

Businessman Uy, for his part, is recipient of the award "for his outstanding leadership in organizing various sports events in Davao City and supporting local sports to raise its level of performance and excellence".

Cua's painstaking and sacrificial organizing of various leagues in the city of Davao earned him the accolade.

Aside from naming four athletes of the year and three sports leadership awardees, organizer DCSCI, under its president Ben Sur of bodybuilding, opened nominations from various sports groups and organizations including non-DSCI members.

Sur, on the sideline of screening nominees recently, said it is their goal to welcome new members in their organization.

"Considering their nominations is our way of welcoming them to join us. We enjoin them to be a part of DCSCI as well," Sur said.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) executive director lawyer Guillermo Iroy, Jr., who started as a football player in Davao City before going up the ranks of the country's national sports agency , has been invited to give the keynote speech of the event being organized to celebrate the birthday of late sports patron So Kim Cheng.

Every SKC awards night ends with the singing of traditional birthday song and blowing of cake candle. Raffle items at stake for attendees also make the annual affair a must-go event.