CARLO Biado, who defeated compatriot Roland Garcia, 13-5, last December to become the first Filipino in seven years to win the World 9-Ball Championship in Doha, Qatar, said his title conquest is the biggest thing that ever happened to his life.
“Ito na ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko,” said Biado, 34, after he joined bowler Krizziah Lyn Tabora and boxer Jerwin Ancajas in receiving their awards as PSA Athletes of the Year Tuesday evening at the Manila Hotel.
Biado ruled the world’s premier 9-ball competition to put a fitting end to a banner year that also saw him win gold medals in the World Games and the Southeast Asian Games.
On the other hand, Tabora said that with her award, she feels pressured to be always at her best in the coming months.
“I feel that all eyes are on me. People are now expecting me to always be at my best,” said Tabora.
After 14 years, Tabora brought the glory back to Philippine bowling, as she was crowned the 53rd Qubica AMF Bowling World Cup Champion in the women’s division last Nov. 11 in Hermosillo, Mexico.
Tabora, ranked 28th in Asia (2016), bested Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, 232-196, in the stepladder finals to clinch her first international singles’ championship.
Biado and Tabora also got a big boost from the Philippine Sports Commission after being included in the list of eight elite athletes put in the Platinum Classification of the government sports agency’s new allowance scheme.
Under the new scheme, Biado and Tabora will get monthly allowances of P45,000 meant to athletes who have won medals in the Olympics and the world championships.
Deputy executive director Rachel Dumuk said the two are in the list with Olympian weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, windsurfer Gaylor Coveta, para dancesport pair Julius Obero and Rhea Marquez, along with Baguio taekwondo jin Jeordan Dominguez.
Last year, Dominguez won a gold medal in the individual freestyle event during the 14th World Taekwondo Championships in the 17-above individual category.
Dumuk said they have crafted a new allowance scheme for athletes in place of the prioritization program.
Class A athletes, or those who won gold medals in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games will get P40,000, while Class B and C athletes, or those who got silver and bronze medals in the Asian and SEA level will get P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.
The scheme is almost similar to what the Sports Ministry of Malaysia has for the national athletes.
“When we did our research, the sports ministry of Malaysia has almost the same rate that the PSC board has passed,” said Dumuk.
With the new scheme, the agency has reduced the number of athletes it is supporting from 939 last Dec. to 730.