By: Waylon Galvez

They may have suited up for Team Philippines in different eras, but their remarkable achievements—particularly in numerous international competitions—have earned them a place among the newest Hall of Fame inductees. Dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” the group was officially recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

The list includes former national team standouts Eduardo Pacheco (basketball and football), Isidro del Prado (athletics), Ramon Fernandez (basketball), Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco (boxing), Beatrice Lucero-Lhuillier (gymnastics and taekwondo), Cecil Mamiit (tennis), and para-athlete Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta (weightlifting). Their inclusion was announced by PSC and POC officials as the latest additions to the Hall of Fame.

Their selection was finalized following a thorough screening process and extensive deliberations by the Selection Committee, led by PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

The “Magnificent Seven” were formally unveiled on Monday, April 13, at the PSC Media Room in Vito Cruz, Manila. Their induction ceremony is tentatively scheduled for May 20 at the Heroes Hall of Malacañang Palace.

This latest batch marks the fifth installment of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, which was established by law in 2010. With these new inductees, the total number of honorees rises to 54, following previous enshrinements of 10 athletes in the inaugural class, 17 in 2016, 10 in 2018, and another 10 in 2021.

Each inductee will receive a specially crafted trophy by renowned sculptor Leandro Baldemor, along with a cash prize of P500,000.

“The Philippine Sports Hall of Fame is more than an honor roll of medals — it is a living ledger of greatness to honor those who have defined what it means to be Filipino in sport,” said Gregorio, who co-headed the selection committee with Tolentino.

“These are not just names. They are the pride and memory of a nation. The search for new enshrinees has been difficult because there are many stories of greatness in sports,” he added.

“Some are measured in medals. Many are not. And yet we undertake this task, because a nation that remembers its champions is a nation that continues to produce them.”

The process will culminate in a star-studded enshrinement ceremony, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expected to attend as the special guest.

Tolentino said the seven honorees represent the very best of Philippine sports from 1924 to 2014, joining past inductees such as Teofilo Yldefonso, Caloy Loyzaga, Miguel White, Mona Sulaiman, Felicisimo Ampon, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Pancho Villa, Robert Jaworski, Paeng Nepomuceno, Bong Coo, Lydia de Vega-Mercado, and Elma Muros-Posadas.

The POC chief added that the seven were selected from a pool of 75 nominees.

“Lahat naman deserving but we had to choose,” said Tolentino, who also revealed plans to amend the law governing the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame. The proposed changes include recognizing sports patrons and leaders, as well as clarifying the provision that currently limits eligibility to retired athletes and coaches.

Tolentino said congressional support would be needed to implement these amendments in time for the next batch of inductees in 2028.

“I will be the one to push for that (amendment). It is very important to have sports leaders, sports patrons and even media. We want to see them in the Hall of Fame,” said Gregorio.

Other members of the Selection Committee include Games and Amusements Board chairman Atty. Francisco Rivera, NSA representatives Jarryd Belo and Jose Malonzo, Ayala Foundation representative Xavier Virata, and MVP Sports Foundation president Al Panlilio.

The Review and Evaluation Committee, meanwhile, was composed of sports journalists Jun Lomibao, Al Mendoza, Ignacio Dee, Quinito Henson, and Dodo Catacutan.

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• Angels 22-80 JT Lady Jaguars

JT Lady Jaguars (11-1) concluded the first round of the regular season with a dominant victory against Angels.

JT Lady Jaguars secured a dominant 80-22 victory against Angels in the National Basketball League encounter at YMCA Court on Sunday.

Sudi Ulanga’s troops started on the front foot imploring a full-court press as they opened a huge 17-point (21-4) lead at the end of the opening period.

In the second quarter, the Angels spent six minutes without dropping a point until Joan Namatovu converted one of the attempts from the line. Angels continued to struggle at both sides of the court trailing 30 points going into the long break.

Coming from the halftime break, Angels tried to regroup and scored 10 points but their deficit extended to 44 points going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, it was a one-way traffic as the Angels were limited to only two points as the Lady Jaguars ran away with a 58-point victory.

Priscillar Nambogo (15 points), Brenda Kayaga (13 points) , Shakirah Nanvubya (12 points) and Mercy Batamuliza (10 points) led the scoring for the Lady Jaguars in double digits.

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Meralco simply proved steadier down the stretch and went on to outlast Macau in a thrilling encounter, 115-110, to notch its third consecutive win in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Bolts found themselves trailing by a field goal with 3:58 to go, but youngster CJ Cansino took matters into his own hands, scoring in back-to-back fashion to put themselves ahead for good, 111-109, with less than two minutes remaining.

Ramon Cao cut the spread to just a point following a split from the charity stripe, but momentum was already on the opposing team’s side, with import Marvin Jones pushing their lead back to 113-110 with 45.1 seconds to spare.

Cansino then came through with a big denial by swatting away Phoenix Shackleford’s attempt from beyond the arc, before Jansen Rios fully closed the door on the Black Knights with a conversion inside with 9.8 ticks left to play.

(C) PBA Images

“They hung in there, they started making their threes. But at the end of the day, these guys pulled through,” lauded head coach Luigi Trillo. “Coach had a talk with them at the half; he got them to realize how big this game is.”

Jones finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds to lead Meralco, which broke away from NLEX to grab solo second in the standings after improving to 5-1.

Cansino delivered 23 points and seven rebounds, plus two steals. Jason Brickman delivered 13 points, three rebounds, and six assists while Chris Newsome chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Bolts.

The Bolts will look to make it four straight when they take on, coincidentally, the Road Warriors on Friday, April 17, at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.

(C) PBA Images

Shackelford, on the other hand, had 29 points–spiked by a 4-of-5 clip from three–to lead Macau, which fell to its sixth defeat in as many outings.

Jenning Leung had 21 points and seven rebounds with four assists. Cao made 20 points and eight rebounds as Tony Mitchell added 16 and 14.

Damian Chongqui had 13 points and 13 assists as head coach Marcus Elliott shortened his rotation, which proved effective as it enabled the guest team to go toe-to-toe with the one-time Philippine Cup champs, but still wasn’t enough.

The Black Knights (0-6) will try to end their winless spell when they get a first crack at NLEX (4-1) on April 14, Tuesday, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The Scores:

Meralco 115 – Jones 32, Cansino 23, Brickman 13, Newsome 11, Black 9, Rios 7, Almazan 7, Banchero 6, Quinto 3, Hodge 2, Magbuhos 2.

Macau 110 – Shackelford 29, Leung 21, Cao 20, Mitchell 16, Chongqui 13, Lao 9, Li 2, Sun 0, Li 0.

Quarterscores: 26-25, 53-57, 87-81, 115-100.

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