Pasaol Leads UAAP MVP Race After Elims in Latest SP Tally
Updated
Janrey Pasaol has won the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball MVP race, leading the official statistical points tally announced by the league on Thursday, November 27.
The FEU star recently moved up to the top spot of the updated ranking, strengthening his case as the league’s top individual awardee after his season finale against UST.
Pasaol finished the eliminations as the top performer, edging out La Salle’s Michael Phillips and NU’s Jake Figueroa. His rise in the standings gives FEU its first league MVP since Terrence Romeo in 2013.
Joining him in the mythical five are Collins Akowe of UST, Phillips, Figueroa, and Nic Cabañero of UST.
Precious Momowei and Mo Konateh posted higher SPs than Cabañero in the updated list, but both are foreign student athletes. The league allows only one foreign student athlete in the mythical team, which means Akowe earns the slot.
Akowe’s decorated elimination round performance is highlighted by winning Rookie of the Year as a true freshman. He would have won Best Foreign Student Athlete honors on top of his mythical team selection as well had he finished on top of the statistical points race, which he led entering the Tigers’ season finale against FEU. His efficiency on the boards and steady interior presence helped propel UST back to the Final Four.
Phillips and Figueroa round out the frontcourt of the projected mythical lineup. Both maintained solid statistical averages through their team’s respective playoff push. Figueroa was leading the MVP race before his season finale against UST where he scored just 3 points in a little over 20 minutes of action in a non-bearing game for NU.
Cabañero kept his place among the top local scorers of the season and is included in the mythical five race for the second straight season.
While FEU’s Final Four run might have ended, Pasaol’s play gives the Tamaraws added momentum for the years to come.
Karl Ann Pingol of National University won the MVP award in the women’s division while Goodluck Okebata of UE won the award in the U16 division.
