FILIPINO athletes, coaches and trainors who have excelled in their respective sports from 1924 to 1984  will  now have the chance to be enshrined in the third Philippine Sports Hall of Fame later this year. 

Philippine Sports Commission ( PSC) Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said the task of selecting the  members of the third batch of inductees to the Hall of Fame is difficult but important “because we have to be  careful and thoughtful in selecting them.”

Ramirez,  who also sits as chairman of the PSC Screening and Review Committee, underscore the   gravity  and importance of bestowing the award to anybody.

“We’re talking about the Philippine Sports of Hall of Fame,  so we have to very careful in choosing the awardees based on their  achievements,”  said Ranirez during a meeting at the PSC Administration Bldg. inside the Rizal  Memorial  Sports Complex in Vito Cruz, Manila.

Ramirez said the  deadline for  nominations for outstanding athletes,  coaches and trainors who did the country proud from the period of 1924 to 1974  is set on  Sept. 30.

Ramirez was joined in the  PSC  Screening and Review Committee by Games and Amusements Board  (GAB).Chairman Abraham  Mitra,  Philippine Olympians Association  president  Akiko  Thomson-Guevara, Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas deputy executive director Bernie Atienza,  Tabloid  Organization in  Philippine  Sports   president  Ed  Andaya of People’s Tonight  and  veteran sports  journalist Jun  Lomibao of Business Mirror.

Also with  the group are Philippine  Sportswriters Association  president  Dodo Catacutan, of Spin.Ph,  PSC-POC Media Corps  president  June Navarro of Philippine Daily Inquirer and Randy Caluag of Ripples Daily.

Known  as Republic Act No. 8757, the act establishing the Philippine Sports Hallof Fame was  approved  last Nov. 25, 1999 and signed into law by  then President Joseph Estrada.

The first batch of inductees were  enshrined last  May 10, 2010 at the Manila Hotel.

Inducted  in the first batch were  Simeon Toribio  (athletics), Miguel White  (athletics), Carlos Loyzaga (basketball), Ceferino Garcia  (boxing), Gabriel  “Flash” Elorde  (boxing),  Jose Villanueva (boxing),  Pancho Villa ( boxing), Anthony Villanueva ( boxing), Teofilo Yldefonso (swimming) and the 1954  Philippine  men’s basketball team.

The  second  batch  of honorees were enshrined  last Jan. 25, 2016 at the Century Park.

Included in the second batch were  Inocencia Solis (athletics), Isaac Gomez (athletics), Mona Sulaiman (athletics),   Edgardo Ocampo ( basketball),  Kurt Bachmann  (basketball),  Mariano Tolentino (basketball), Eugene  Torre (chess), Raymundo Deyro  (lawn tennis), Johnny  Jose (lawn tennis), Felicisimo  Ampon (lawn tennis), Adolfo Feliciano ( shooting), Martin Gison (shooting), Gerardo Rosario (swimming), Mohammad Mala (swimming),  Jacinto  Cayco (swimming),  Haydee Colosa-Espino (swimming) and   Salvador  del  Rosario  (weightlifting).