Velasco, Fernandez top Philippine Hall of Fame class

Olympic silver medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. and basketball great Ramon Fernandez will headline the 2026 class of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, with the enshrinement ceremony scheduled for May 20, organizers announced.

They will be joined by Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta in para-powerlifting, Beatriz Lucero Lhuillier in gymnastics and taekwondo, Cecil Mamiit in tennis, Isidro del Prado in athletics, and Eduardo Alvir Pacheco in football and basketball.

“Lahat naman deserving, but we have to choose,” said Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino.

The Hall of Fame honors retired Filipino athletes, coaches, and trainers whose achievements and integrity meet the standards set under Republic Act No. 8757, the 1999 law that created the institution.

“The Philippine Sports Hall of Fame is more than an honor roll of medals. It is a living ledger of greatness that honors those who have defined what it means to be Filipino in sport,” Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Patrick Gregorio said.

“These are not just names. They are the pride and memory of a nation. The search for new enshrinees has been difficult because there are many stories of greatness in sports. Some are measured in medals; many are not. Yet we undertake this task because a nation that remembers its champions is a nation that continues to produce them.”

Gregorio later repeated that point in slightly shorter form during Monday’s announcement, saying, “The Hall of Fame is more than an honor roll. It is a living ledger of greatness for those who have defined what it means to be a Filipino in sports.”

He added, “The search for new inductees is very difficult, but we undertake this task because a nation that remembers its champions is a nation that will continue to produce them.”

Veteran sports journalist Quinito Henson said the selection process drew 75 nominees from across the country through a nationwide nomination process.

He said the committee expanded the long list to make sure candidates from different regions, provinces, and sports associations were considered before narrowing the field to 15 finalists and, eventually, seven inductees.

“Very, very difficult process because it involved a lot of discussions. Tiningnan natin lahat ng qualifications ng athletes. After which, as it was explained earlier, there was a meeting between the screening, selection, and review committees. From there, there were further discussions until the final seven were chosen,” Henson said.

Henson also described the deliberations this way: “Mahirap yung discussion to finally come up with the list. We had 75 total nominees, as we had a nationwide nomination process.”

He said the panel reviewed athletes who were active from 1924 to 2014 as part of the final evaluation.

“We really wanted to make this an elite batch of enshrinements,” Henson said.

The screening panel included Gregorio, Tolentino, Games and Amusements Board Chairman Atty. Francisco Rivera, national sports association representatives Jarryd Belo and Jose Malonzo, Ayala Foundation representative Xavier Virata, and MVP Sports Foundation President Al Panlilio.

Members of the media also served on the review and evaluation committee, including Henson of The Philippine Star, Jun Lomibao and Al Mendoza of BusinessMirror, Dodo Catacutan of Spin.ph, and Ignacio Dee of Manila Standard.

Under Republic Act No. 8757, candidates must be “Filipino athletes, coaches, or trainers who have distinguished themselves in local and international sports and who possess character and integrity.”

For athletes, the law says the minimum standards include at least a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games, a silver medal in the Asian Games or equivalent regional competitions, a bronze medal in the Olympics or World Games, or a world championship in professional or amateur competition.

The law also limits enshrinement to retired athletes and coaches, which organizers said excludes sports patrons and other officials from consideration under the current rules.

Gregorio said he wants that changed.

“I will be doing a very aggressive campaign to amend this,” insisted the former PBA chairman.

He said he plans to push for amendments that would allow sports leaders, patrons, and members of the media to be considered for future Hall of Fame classes.

Each inductee will receive PHP 500,000, as stipulated in the law.

Organizers said the seven legends will join the names already in the Hall of Fame, although the background materials attached to the announcement gave conflicting totals, citing both 47 existing names and 37 current inductees.

Among the most prominent names already enshrined are Teofilo Yldefonso, the first Filipino and Southeast Asian Olympic medalist after winning bronze in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics, 1936 Olympic bronze medalist Miguel White, basketball standouts Caloy Loyzaga, Kurt Bachmann, and Robert Jaworski, boxing greats Gabriel Elorde and Pancho Villa, football icon Paulino Alcantara, and bowling champions Paeng Nepomuceno and Bong Coo.

For Philippine sports officials, the Hall of Fame serves not only as a recognition program, but also as a historical record of athletes whose achievements helped define eras in boxing, basketball, tennis, para sports, athletics, football, baseball, gymnastics, and taekwondo.

The enshrinement in May will mark the fifth batch of Hall of Fame honorees since the institution was established in 1999.