Larida is Southern Coach of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 18 Sep 2025
FORTY-TWO-year-old Ace Tancontian Larida is the Coach of the Year by the 2025 Sports Heroes Night slated on September 28 at 6 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom of The Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.
Larida is a playing coach of Pilipinas Sambo Federation (PSFI) which is also the National Sports Association [NSA] of the Year.
PSFI, which is headed by its President Paolo Tancontian, is the only NSA which is Davao City based.
Sydney Sy Tancontian and Chino Sy Tancontian are the Female and Male Awardees of Sports Hero of the Year.
Sydney earned the award for winning the bronze medals in the +80kg of the 2025 Grand Prix de Sambo de Paris held in Paris, France last June.
Chino, on the other hand, won his gold medal in the 51st All Japan Sambo Championships & Japan International Competition, held last February at Sumida-ku Sogo Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Larida captured the -98kg Masters division gold medal in the 2025 Dutch Open in the Netherlands.
He also played in winning three golds in the US Open and as a coach in taking one bronze in the World Games.
“We’re now preparing for the World Championship in Kyrgyzstan in November,” said Larida.
“I am so thankful that I didn't expect to be chosen and I promise I will do my best to introduce sambo to Davao City,” said Larida, who started as a coach in 2019.
Larida, who first played as judo player at the GSIS Davao Masters Judo Club in 1992, will continue as a playing coach of the Team Sambo.
“Yes I will continue playing, as long as I can win and bring honor to the country, I will play,” said Larida.
Sambo will be a demo sport in the coming Batang Pinoy in General Santos City and will soon become a regular sport in the Palarong Pambansa.
PSFI was recognized by Sambo Union of Asia(SUA) as the national governing body of Sambo in the Philippines in 2015.
It was granted full membership by the Fédération Internationale de Sambo (FIAS) in 2016 .
PSFI is now one of the most active NSAs in the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.
The 2025 Sports Heroes Night is presented by the Southern Sports Digest in cooperation with the Davao Sportswriters Association [DSA].
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Lito delos Reyes.
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