MANILA, Philippines ? Boxing and billiards in the country are not just about Manny Pacquiao and Efren ?Bata? Reyes.
Nonito Donaire Jr. and Dennis Orcollo rose out of the shadows of their more illustrious counterparts by each winning a world title and giving Philippine sports something to cheer Lasabout in the year just passed.
In a February to remember, Donaire punched his way to a second world championship in three years with a spectacular second round technical knockout of tough Mexican Fernando Montiel in their unification title fight for the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight belts at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A week later, it was Orcollo?s turn to whip up a storm at the other end of the globe, pocketing his first world title by winning the world 8-ball championship at the Fujairah Exhibition Center in United Arab Emirates after routing Neils Feijen of the Netherlands in the finals, 10-3.
The twin kill was just the beginning of what turned out to be a remarkable year for the two soft-spoken, but highly-accomplished Filipino athletes.
Along the way, Orcollo and Donaire sustained their brilliancy.
The 29-year-old boxing champion who goes by the name ?Filipino Flash? successfully retained his 118-lbs title belts with a lopsided, unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Omar Andres Narvaez of Argentina in headlining a huge boxing card at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Not to be outdone, the 32-year-old Orcollo, nicknamed ?Robocop?, traveled with Team Philippines to Palembang, Indonesia for the 26th Southeast Asian Games where he bagged the gold medal in the eight-ball event.
He ended the season as the Player of the Year by the World Pool and Billiard Association (WPA) and finished as the top player in the world rankings.
For what they?ve accomplished, the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) won?t deny them of their moment and bestowed upon them the honor as 2011 Athletes of the Year.
Together, Orcollo and Donaire lead the honorable men and women to be recognized by the country?s oldest media organization, composed of editors and sportswriters from the national broadsheets and tabloids, when it holds its Annual Awards Night on March 3 at the Manila Hotel.
For Orcollo, this marks the second straight year he was named Athlete of the Year by the PSA after likewise sharing the award with bowling champion Biboy Rivera, Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar, and pool great Francisco ?Django? Bustamante in 2010.
