MILO Rivera is set for another ride of his life.
The 21-year-old slalom champion is the choice as the President’s Award of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in its Annual Awards Night presented by San Miguel and Milo set next Monday at the LE PAVILLON.
PSA president Riera Mallari of The Standard said Rivera is deserving of the honor following a wonderful season that saw him declared the National Slalom champion for the third straight year, got invited by a top Formula 3 Team in Adria, Venice, Italy, and became the first ever Filipino to be crowned ‘FIA Gymkhana’ champion after winning the 2016 FIA Taiwan Auto Gymkhana Grand Prix.
Rivera joins Athlete of the Year Hidilyn Diaz among the top awardees in the Feb. 13 gala night co-presented by CIGNAL/HYPER HD.
Past recipients of the President’s Award include the Ateneo basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, National University, former world champions Rubilen Amit, Dennis Orcollo, and Lee Van Corteza, taekwondo jin Mikaela Calamba, the Philippine women’s bowling trio, among others
Rivera’s shining moment came in the final week of September when he topped the Gymkhana Gran Prix in Taichung, Taiwan where he bested 32 of the best slalom and Gymkhana drivers from all over the world, which included renowned motorsports legend and 18-time world champion Tetsuya Yamano of Japan.
The victory also allowed the country to finish as Overall Nations’ Champions in the event.
Even at a young age, Rivera is already a national racing and advance safety driving instructor of the Automobile Association Philippine (AAP).
At the same time, he is the first and only Filipino Young Driver ambassador for road safety to the Federation Internationale de I’Autombile (FIA), the world governing body of four-wheel mobility and motorsports.
“For carving his name in the world of motorsports even at a young age, Milo Rivera is truly worthy of the President’s Award the PSA is bestowing for the year 2016,” said Mallari of the special choice award to be handed out during the affair that counts on Smart, Rain or Shine, Phoenix Petroleum, Mighty Sports, Gold Toe, Globalport, Foton, and ICTSI for its major sponsors.
Major awards and citations will also be given in the annual event likewise backed by the PBA, SM Prime Holdings Inc., Philippine Sports Commission, ACCEL, MVP Sports Foundation, PCSO, Meralco, NLEX, and Federal Land.
Philip Ella Juico (Executive of the Year), Eugene Torre (Lifetime Achievement Award), June Mar Fajardo (Mr. Basketball), Mika Reyes (Ms. Volleyball), Miguel Tabuena (Mr. Golf), Misagh Bahadoran (Mr. Football), and Jeordan Dominguez (Mr. Taekwondo) are also part of the long list of awardees to be recognized by the country’s oldest media organization.