THIRDY RAVENA and Chloe Daos, two of Ateneo’s most dominant student-athletes in the scrapped University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82, were recently hailed as the Guidon-Moro Lorenzo awardees for the year.
Ravena became the first basketball player to win the Sportsman of the Year award since Nonoy Baclao shared the award in 2010 with judoka JR Reyes.
Swimming sensation Daos, on the other hand, hoisted her Sportswoman of the Year trophy, which she also won in her rookie year in 2018. The 20-year-old was also named this year’s Ambrosio Padilla Athlete of the Year.
The two stalwarts had a fruitful Season 82 campaign.
The 23-year-old Ravena was part of the national men’s team to the 2019 Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers and steered the Blue Eagles to an immaculate 16-0 sweep of the UAAP men’s tournament.
To cap his collegiate career, he also became the first-ever three-time Finals Most Valuable Player in the 82-year history of the league.
Daos, meanwhile, continued her dominant run in the pool, winning all seven of her events during the four-day meet last October to increase her collegiate tally to 21 gold medals.
In her last swim for the season, she broke the five-year record of fellow Moro Lorenzo awardee Hannah Dato, clocking two minutes and 19.03 seconds to erase Dato’s 2:19.71 in the 200-m butterfly from the books.
The other nominees for the Sportsman of the Year awards were reigning two-time UAAP backstroke king Aki Cariño and men’s foil of fencing gold medalist Jaime Viceo. The two other finalists for the Sportswoman of the Year race were women’s badminton co-Finals MVPs Geva de Vera and Chanelle Lunod.
Daos also bested Romina Gavino and reigning two-time UAAP men’s judo middleweight champion Bernie Margulies.
The Guidon-Moro Lorenzo and Ambrosio Padilla Athletes of the Year awards are presented annually and are part of the Loyola Schools Awards for Leadership and Service.
The Moro Lorenzo award recognize athletes “who have shown excellence and utmost dedication in their sport.”
The Ambrosio Padilla award, on the other hand, goes to athletes who exemplify the ideals of the late senator of mens sana in corpore sano.