AS ONE of the major aspects in the Atenean community, sports, and the men and women who represent the university in various athletic competitions, are recognized during the annual Loyola Schools (LS) Awards for Leadership and Service.

As part of this celebration, The GUIDON and the Lorenzo family annually confer the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards to deserving student-athletes who exemplify the Ateneo ideal of mens sana in corpore sano—a sound mind in a sound body. Named after the legendary Luis “Moro” Lorenzo, the awards endeavour to recognize athletes who have shown excellence and utmost dedication in their sport of choice.

The Moro Lorenzo Awards are usually given to a male and a female athlete who have dominated in their selected athletic fields. Their athletic performance is the only measure in the selection. Due to this, most of the winners of the Moro awards are the Most Valuable Players (MVP) of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) tournament. There are also Moro awardees that have represented the country in international competitions such as the Southeast Asian Games.

Rise of the new generation

Due to the number of athletes around campus, there has been a variety of winners throughout the year for different sports.

One might expect most of the awardees to come from the basketball and volleyball teams due to their current popularity in the UAAP sports scene. But these sports teams haven’t had a lot of Moro Lorenzo over the past few years. The last time a basketball player won was back in 2010, when Blue Eagle Nonoy Baclao co-shared the award with Blue Judoka Salvador Reyes. On the other hand, sports like badminton have seen a good share of winners. For instance, 2012 awardee Blue Shuttler Toby Gadi was the league’s MVP and was ranked number one in the Philippines’ badminton ranking system.

The last couple of years have seen the award go to a number of rookies who took home both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards from their UAAP tournaments. Jose Miguel Salud, for example, the pitcher for the Blue Batters during UAAP Season 75, brought home both the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in the same season. It was in that season that the Blue Batters bagged their first ever UAAP championship. Salud was also part of the team that represented the whole Asia-Pacific region in the Big League World Series held in Puerto Rico.

Last 2014, Blue Spiker Marck Espejo and Lady Shuttler Bianca Carlos carried the prestige of winning the award. It is noteworthy that Carlos was also ranked number one in the country in the Women’s and Under-19 categories when she was awarded the recognition.

Carlos shares in a mix of English and Filipino, “Winning the Moro Lorenzo award [was] such a big deal because, it’s like you’re one of the best.” She continues by saying how much it has humbled her despite the rough competition. “A lot [of athletes] were nominated as well, including Alyssa Valdez; it was shocking, but I got the award.” She adds how big of an honor it was for her that she was dubbed as the school’s best athlete.

Ambrosio Padilla

Aside from the Moro Lorenzo Award, the Ambrosio Padilla Award is also given during the LS Awards for Leadership and Service to a student-athlete who has not only excelled in his or her sport of choice but also in the field of academics. This award is named after Ambrosio Padilla (AB ‘30), who led the Blue Eagles to the championship during the 1928 National Championship Athletic Association finals and represented the Philippine Team during the 1930 Far Eastern Olympic Games. But other than athletics, Padilla also graduated summa cum laude and was the salutatorian of his batch in the University of the Philippines Law School.

The recipient of the Ambrosio Padilla Award must not only prove his or her mettle on the playing field, but also within the confines of the Ateneo classroom. Because of this, the Padilla awardees may not be the most dominant member of their team in competitions. This does not mean, however, that the athletes who take home this award are slouches in the field. The Ambrosio Padilla Award has been home of some inspiring stories of athletes over the years as well.

Take for instance the story of Blue Trackster Ezekiel “Zek” Valera, who received the award in 2010. He brought two gold medals to Katipunan in the Pole Vault events during the 71st and 72nd seasons of the UAAP, and graduated with an honorable mention as a double major in health sciences and history. Most notably, however, is that a month before the start of Season 72, he suffered a potentially life-threatening injury and career-ending as he landed head-first four meters from his pole vault attempt while training. He is now currently a medical student in the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.

Record-breakers have also been given the Padilla award. When Blue Tanker Jonas Ramos added the Padilla plum to his cupboard, he did it not only because of his excellent academic record but also because of a record breaking performance in the 4×50 medley relay during the swimming tournament of the UAAP.

Competitive field

There is no question that previous winners of these awards have given their time and effort in every aspect of their game. It has proven to be a very competitive field, as there have been instances where isolating a single winner was not enough to do justice to these Atenean’s performances.

Back in 2009, the quality of the athletes in the selection pool was too high to be whittled down into three as in the end; five athletes were recognized during that year’s awards night. Blue Judoka Paolo Luz took home the Moro Sportsman of the Year Award after copping the UAAP MVP award, Lady Tanker Nicole Santiago took home the Sportswoman of the Year Award after bringing home three gold medals and helping the team to an overall champion rating. Blue Tanker Ramos took home the Padilla award.

The two additional awards went to Blue Eagle Chris Tiu, who was also recognized by the Padilla family as he maintained a high academic standard while being the King Eagle for the men’s basketball team. Lady Jin Toni Rivero was recognized by the University Athletics Office and The GUIDON after she represented the country during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

It will be another competitive year for these athletes as the Ateneo has seen some stellar performances from the athletes this past season. The year kicked off with the praiseworthy title quest of the basketball and badminton teams, the historic sweep of the Blue and Lady Tankers and the road of the Blue Batters for a three-peat. Certain mainstays have also had their impact in the Atenean community as the volleyball program brags certain individuals who translate the “heartstrong” mentality to success.

The competitiveness of the awards show that despite the fact that Ateneo is considered as an intellectual society, the Eagles are also home to some of the best university athletes in the country today. For Carlos, it was an affirmation of her dedication when she won it in her freshman year, “It was a very memorable and heart-warming experience to see that all your hard work, pain, struggles pay off.”

She adds that it was a shared victory with her family as it was the assurance that she’s made an impact as an athlete. “I got super happy to see my mom so proud of me. Winning the Moro Lorenzo award was my mom’s wish for me ever since high school.”

The current Ateneo athletes follow a long road of excellence as they are living up to the names of legends. Whether it’s a championship stint or an exceptional display of magis through academics, these athletes who are nominated in these awards live the tradition of excellence in the Ateneo.