THE veteran trio of LA Tenorio, Ian Sangalang, and Cliff Hodge are part of the honor roll to be recognized by the PBA Press Corps when it holds its 30th Awards Night on Sept. 24 at the Novotel Manila Araneta City.
The do-it-all Hodge will be hailed as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Tenorio and Sangalang are the recipients of the Bogs Adornado Comeback Player of the Year award from the group of sportswriters regularly covering Asia's pioneering pro league.
As Meralco's long-time pillar at the post, the 36-year-old Hodge averaged 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, while providing tons of hustle and hard work that were hardly reflected in the stats.
Hodge has been with the Bolts since 2012 when the team selected him no. 4 overall during the draft. He played a major part when the franchise finally won a first ever PBA championship when it beat highly-favored San Miguel Beermen in six games of the Philippine Cup finals last season.
Hodge joins the likes of Marc Pingris, Chris Jackson, Arwind Santos, Freddie Abuda, Chris Ross, June Mar Fajardo, among others, who were past recipients of the award.
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Tenorio and Sangalang on the other hand, will be honored for their successful return to active duty after their respective bouts with career-threatening illnesses.
Sangalang was previously diagnosed with hyperthyroidism that led him to miss the rest of the league's Season 47 with Magnolia.
Tenorio's health condition was an open case the moment the Barangay Ginebra team captain announced he was stricken with stage three colon cancer. His situation made him skip the Season 47 Governors' Cup that finally ended his league record of 744 consecutive games played.
But following their respective treatments, both Sangalang and Tenorio are back in the pink of health and playing again for their respective teams, healthy enough to receive the special award named after PBA great William 'Bogs' Adornado, who successfully came back from two career-threatening knee injuries and became a three-time league MVP. (RG)
