ONE shook the boxing world with a single devastating punch, the other emerged the best among the finest in the Southeast Asian region.

Boxer Nonito Donaire Jr. and swimmer Miguel Molina did the country proud last year, their exploits coming in the most trying times.

Donaire, 25, wrested the International Boxing Federation flyweight crown by destroying the myth of invincibility surrounding previously unbeaten champion Vic Darchinyan in their world title fight in Connecticut, USA.

Not to be outdone, Molina, 23, bagged the Best Male Athlete award in the 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand and became the saving grace of a troubled Team Philippines’ campaign.

The two, without doubt, served as the face of another remarkable season in Philippine sports, and were named as the 2007 Athletes of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

Bested by Donaire and Molina for the prestigious award handed out by the country’s oldest media organization were boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao, golfer Frankie Minoza, pool idol Ronnie Alcano and young Grandmaster Wesley So.

The PSA Athlete of the Year honor will be the first for both Donaire and Molina.

"It was a hard decision considering all candidates were deserving. In the end, it all boiled down between Nonito Donaire and Miguel Molina, whose daring exploits came at the unexpected time," said PSA president Aldrin Cardona of the Tribune.

The two will be honored in the San Miguel Corporation-PSA Annual Awards Night on Feb. 16 at the SM Mall of Asia.

Pacquiao, Minoza, Alcano and So have been automatically included among the major awardees to be feted by the media group composed of sportswriters from the country’s national broadsheets and tabloids.

Already named major awardees in the event sponsored by Shakey’s, the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., Accel, and Ray-mundo’s Trophies and Sculptures (www.raymundonawards.com) are Mark Caguioa (pro) and Jason Castro (amateur) in basketball and jockey Patti Dilema and Es Twenty Six in horseracing.

Meanwhile, the gold medal winners in the SEA Games lead the personalities and entities to be given citations in the awards night to be broadcast live over DZSR Sports Radio 918. The rites can be seen on the internet by logging on www.pbs.gov.ph and clicking the sportsradio icon.

On a cloudy day in August last year, Donaire stunned the boxing world by scoring a fifth round technical knockout win over the 31-year-old Darchinyan, an Australian of Armenian descent, to win the 112-pound IBF belt.

Now based in Los Angeles but born in Gen. Santos City, Donaire dominated the hard-hitting Darchinyan, one of the most fearsome punchers in boxing today, right from the opening round before completing the shocking win by connecting a solid counter left hook to the jaw that knocked the champion down.

Four months after the sensational win, adjudged as the 2007 ‘Upset of the Year’ and ‘Knockout of the Year’ by Ring Magazine, considered the Bible of Boxing, Donaire returned to the ring and successfully defended his IBF belt with an eighth-round technical knockout victory over Mexican Luis Maldonado at the Foxwoods Resort Casino.

A week after Donaire’s title defense, Molina took center stage.

The University of California-Berkeley International Relations graduate took the SEA Games by storm with a four-gold romp at the pool of His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium on the way to being named the meet’s Best Male Athlete.

The long-haired Filipino swimmer topped the 400-m individual medley, the 200-m individual medley, the 200-m breaststroke and anchored the powerhouse 4x100-m relay team composed of Ryan Arabejo, James Walsh and Daniel Coakley to victory, becoming one of only two athletes to win four gold medals in the Thailand SEA Games, the other being fellow tanker Nathanan Chankrachiang of Thailand.

Molina is the first Filipino athlete to be bestowed the prestigious honor after swimming great Eric Buhain did the trick back-to-back in 1989 and 1991.