MANILA, Philippines — Reliable as ever, the sports of boxing, bowling and billiards again provided some of the brightest moments that made 2010 another remarkable year for Philippine sports.

This time, boxer Rey Saludar, bowler Biboy Rivera and billiard kings Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante made it all possible, warming the hearts and delighting this country of 90 million people with their respective exploits from the Asian level to the world stage.

Saludar, Rivera and Orcullo served as the face of the 284-strong Philippine delegation that went to war in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, accounting for the three glittering gold medals the country bagged at the end of the Nov. 12-28 meet.

Bustamante, meanwhile, finally nailed the title that has long eluded him, crowning himself the world 9-ball king with his triumphant reign in Doha, Qatar.

Not one to overlook what the four of them had accomplished, the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) is conferring upon them the highly-coveted Athlete of the Year honor for 2010 during its annual Awards Night set March 5 at the Manila Hotel.

Also heavily considered for the prestigious award handed out yearly by the country’s oldest media organization were the Philippine men’s football team, collectively known as the Azkals, following its amazing run in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup where it made the semifinals for the first time, and the Philippine men’s poomsae team that captured the gold medal in the 5th WTF World Poomsae Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and former world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr., who was unbeaten in three fights last year.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao likewise did his share in making 2010 a memorable one, successfully defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt against Joshua Clottey, and then claiming a record eight world championship by battering Mexican Antonio Margarito in 12-full rounds for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-welterweight title.

But already the recipient of six Athlete of the Year plum, including three in a row from 2002-04, the 32-year-old top pound-for-pound fighter of the world had since been elevated to the Hall of Fame by the PSA.

For Rivera, this marked the second time in four years he will be bestowed the highest award given out by the country’s sportswriting fraternity. He was honored with the same plum in 2006 when he won the Masters event of the World Men’s Bowling Championship.

For Django, Orcollo and Saludar, it will be their first Athlete of the Year award since the PSA began compiling its list of winners in 1981.

Eight years after losing toEarl “The Pearl” Strickland in the finals at a time he was mourning the death of his daughter,

Bustamante finally pocketed the only title missing in his vast trophy case when he beat Taiwanese Kuo Po-cheng, 13-7, for the World 9-Ball Pool championship. The feat allowed him to finish as the No. 1 player in the world by the end of the year that also saw him inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame.

Rivera, meanwhile, started the ball rolling for Team Philippines in the Asiad, winning the men’s singles gold barely three days since action in the three-week long meet kicked off.

Bucking off a hurting knee, Rivera submitted 1414 pinfalls to beat Mohammed Algreebah by 10 pins to clinch the country’s breakthrough gold. It was also bowling’s first gold in the meet following a total shutout in the 2006 edition of the Asiad in Doha, Qatar.

Manila Bulletin