RP’s Molina is 24th SEA Games MVP

Filipino swimmer Miguel Molina was voted as the Most Valuable Player (men) of the 24th Southeast Asian Games, which ended Saturday, according to a Philippine delegation report from Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand. Molina, who played an important role in the Filipino swimmers' eight-gold haul from the pool, was chosen by the 18-member selection committee (12 men and 6 women). Host Thailand's Natthanan Chankrachiang was chosen as MVP for the women's side. Chankrachiang is also a swimmer. Molina and Chankrachiang emerged as the winningest athletes from their respective delegations. The two were to receive Baht 330,000 (US$10,000) each, aside from a crystal trophy weighing 1 ½ kilos from the Thai Prime Minister, Gen. Surayud Jullanont, during Saturday evening's colorful closing ceremony at His Majesty The King's 80th Anniversary Stadium. Molina became the second Filipino swimmer to be accorded the biennial meet's top performer after Eric Buhain, another pool specialist who went on to become former Philippine Sports Commission chair and now head of the Games and Amusements Board. Buhain actually emerged the Games Most Outstanding Athlete (male) back-to-back, first in 1989 and again in 1991. Buhain remains the first and only athlete so far to have earned the distinction in the race. Molina topped the men's 200-meter individual medley, 400-m individual medley and 200-m breaststroke and teamed up with Daniel Coakley, James Walsh and Ryan Arabejo to rule the 4x100 medley relay. Aside from his four golds, the United States-based Molina also scooped up the silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay in a team-up with Kendrick Uy, Coakley and Walsh. Molina was nominated by Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP) president Eddie Alinea, the Philippine representative to the voting committee whose members included various Thai media organizations and a representative each from Philippine, Malaysian and Singaporean press. Chankrachiang ruled the women's 100-m freestyle, 200-m freestyle besides anchoring the Thai 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relay teams to victory. The selection committee was chaired by Pacheun Kampo, deputy director of National Broadcast of Thailand, with Wichien Naksrinual, senior executive vice president of TOT Public Company Limited. - GMANews.TV