Olympian Miguel Tabuena, billiards Hall of Famer Carlo Biado, and a host of others who shone in the world and continental stages a year ago will be given special recognition in the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association 2025 Annual Awards Night three weeks from now at the Diamond Hotel Manila.

The 32-year-old Tabuena, Biado along with fellow world champions Chezka Centeno, Melvin Jerusalem, Annie Ramirez and Pedro Taduran join seven others who are going to be given a Major Award during the festivities annually mounted by the country’s oldest media organization and co-presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and ArenaPlus.

The other Major Awardees include the Philippine men’s curling team, pool player Jonas Magpantay, Olympian and world-ranked pole vaulter EJ Obiena, jockey Jonathan Hernandez, champion horse Don Julio, and Horse Owner of the Year James Rabano.

All of them will be part of the long, distinguished honor roll to be recognized in the gala night supported by major backers Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Cignal, Premier Volleyball League, Philippine Basketball Association, Akari, Rain or Shine, Capital1 Solar Energy and Acrocity.

Olympic gold medalists Carlos Yulo and rising tennis star Alex Eala share the highest individual honor being handed out by the sports writing community as Male and Female Athletes of the Year.

Biado, Tabuena, and Centeno were all in the running for the same award but lost out to Yulo and Eala.

Tabuena dazzled a huge Filipino crowd at the Sta. Elena Golf Club following an emotional triumph at the International Series Philippines. He won by three strokes over a stacked field bannered by major champions and banked home a total of $360,000.

Biado, on the other hand, made history by becoming the first Filipino to win twice the World Pool Championship by dispatching American Fedor Gorst in the finals 15-13, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Later in the year, he was inducted in the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida, joining five other Filipinos to be enshrined in the institution.

Centeno nipped Rubilen Amit in a thrilling all-Philippine finale to regain the title in the WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship. The 26-year-old Centeno became only the second two-time champion of the meet after Amit.

Ramirez scored a double gold in the JIJF World Championships in Bangkok by ruling the -57kg Gi and -57kg No-GI, before giving the country its lone gold in the 9th Asian Jiu-jitsu Championship in Amman, Jordan.

For his part, Jerusalem successfully defended his World Boxing Council mini-flyweight title twice, beating Yudai Shigeoka in Japan and South African Siyakholwa Kuse in the main event of the Thrilla in Manila 50th anniversary celebration at the Araneta Coliseum.

Taduran also put his International Boxing Federation mini-flyweight crown on the line two times and emerged victorious against Ginjiro Shigeoka in Japan and Christian Balunan in San Andres, Manila.

The men’s curling team of Marc Pfister, Enrico Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, and Benjo Delarmente defied the odds and won the gold medal in the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, including victories over the host country in the semis, and South Korea in the finals.

In South Korea, the 30-year-old Obiena won a third straight gold in the Asian Athletics Championships, winning his jump-off against Bokai Huang of China by clearing 5.77 meters.

Magpantay also made his presence in the world of pool by topping the Qatar World Cup 10-Ball meet in Doha over a strong field composed of world champions. The win was worth $100,000.