Paeng at Pacman, nagbigay tribute sa idolong si 'Diay'

ni MC - @Sports | August 13, 2022

Ikinalungkot ng mga sports legends na naging kasabayan at umiidolo sa kanya noong dekada 80 at 90 ang pagyao ng sports icon na si Lydia de Vega-Mercado kamakalawa dahil sa sakit na cancer.

"Pagdating ng athletics, talagang si Lydia de Vega ang nagpasikat ng sports, ng athletics, lalo na ang track and field. Ang maibahahagi niya ay 'yung disiplina niya.

Nakikita ko very professional ang training regimen niya, siya at saka ng daddy niya, si Tatang de Vega," ayon kay bowling great Paeng Nepomuceno sa Teleradyo Sakto.

"You ran. You sprinted. You competed in pursuit of your own personal excellence so that the world can know our country, our Philippines. And you succeeded, as more and more Asians became aware of our country," pahayag naman ni boxing great Manny Pacquiao. "I know what it is like to exercise, practice and run alone. I went through all those times that we spent lonely mornings, running, practicing to reach the best version of ourselves. But in the end, success makes it all worth it. And Diay, you are worth all the adulation, all the applause, the appreciation of not only our country, but the whole world."

"Thank you, Diay. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and my boxing career.

Together, you and I -- we did it!" dagdag pa ni Pacman.

"I join the country, especially the athletics and track and field community in mourning the death of Lydia 'Diay' de Vega. We stormed heaven with our prayers. The Lord had other great plans for Diay," ayon kay dating PATAFA chief Philip Ella Juico. "Had Diay stayed a bit longer in this life, she would have continued to have been a role model and an inspiration as an authentic Filipino athlete who genuinely loved sports for the good it could do and not for what she could get out of it."