BOXING and billiards in the country are not just about Manny Pacquiao and Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes.

Nonito Donaire Jr. and Dennis Orcollo rose out of the shadows of their more illustrious counterparts by each winning a world title and gave Philippine sports something to cheer about in the year just passed.

In a February to remember, Donaire punched his way to a second world championship in three years with a spectacular second round technical knockout of tough Mexican Fernando Montiel in their unification fight for the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight title belts at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A week later, it’s Orcollo’s turn to whip up a storm at the other end of the globe, pocketing his first world title by winning the world 8-ball championship at the Fujairah Exhibition Center in United Arab Emirates after routing Neils Feijen of the Netherlands in the finals, 10-3.

The twin kill was just the beginning of what turned out to be a remarkable year for the two soft-spoken, but highly-accomplished Filipino athletes.

Along the way, Orcollo and Donaire sustained their brilliancy.

The 29-year-old boxing champion who goes by the name ‘Filipino Flash’ successfully retained his 118-lbs title belts with a lopsided, unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Omar Andres Narvaez of Argentina in headlining a huge boxing card at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Not to be outdone, the 32-year-old Orcollo, nicknamed ‘Robocop’, traveled with Team Philippines to Palembang, Indonesia for the 26th Southeast Asian Games where he bagged the gold medal in the eight-ball event.

He ended the season as the Player of the Year by the World Pool and Billiard Association (WPA) and finished as the top player in the world rankings.

For what they’ve accomplished, the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) won’t deny Orcollo and Donaire of their moment and bestowed upon them the honor as 2011 Athletes of the Year.

Together, Orcollo and Donaire lead the honorable men and women to be recognized by the country’s oldest media organization, composed of editors and sportswriters from the national broadsheets and tabloids, when it holds its Annual Awards Night on March 3 at the Manila Hotel.

For Orcollo, this marks the second straight year he was named Athlete of the Year by the PSA after likewise sharing the award with bowling champion Biboy Rivera, Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar, and pool great Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante in 2010.

The native of Bislig, Surigao is just one of sixth athletes to have been named Athlete of the Year in back-to-back fashion after bowler Bong Coo (1982-84), legendary track queen Lydia de Vega (1986-87), former world boxing champion Luisito Espinosa (1989-90), golfer Dorothy Delasin (2000-01), and the great Pacquiao (2002-04 and 2008-09).

For Donaire, it’s his second Athlete of the Year trophy following the 2007 Annual Awards Night where he shared the honor with multi-titled swimmer Miguel Molina.   

Also considered as top contender for the Athlete of the Year award was Juvic Pagunsan, who became the first Filipino to be named as Asian Tour Order of Merit champion for topping the Asian rankings.

Having been elevated into the PSA Hall of Fame two years ago, Pacquiao, a six-time Athlete of the Year winner in a nine-year span, is already ineligible for the honor.