IN what was a huge shocker, College of St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag is MVP once more.
The 6’6 big claimed his second straight MVP honors on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, edging out Letran’s Titing Manalili and San Beda’s Janti Miller, the two protagonists in the best-of-three finals of the NCAA Season 101
Liwag put up averages of 15.7 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block per game for a total of 49 Player Average Value (PAV) in an injury-riddled season, one where he went down with a flu early in the season, while also missing a three games due to a shoulder injury.
But he remains eligible as he still played seven in CSB’s 13 classification games with NCAA rules stating that a player must play at least 50 percent of the games to be eligible for the awards.
Him returning in their final game against EAC -- where he dropped 16 points and eight rebounds in a win -- might have just saved his MVP bid.
He barely edged out Letran's Manalili who finished with a total of 46.23 PAV. He closed out the elimination with 14 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.
NCAA's best
San Sebastian's Jhuniel dela Rama finished third with 43.54 PAVS, Miller actually placed fourth with 41.23 PAVs while Kevin Santos rounded up the top five and the mythical team with 39 PAVs.
Manalili's individual brilliance didn't go unnoticed, though, as he was named the NCAA's freshman and rookie of the year, edging out the equally brilliant Dela Rama for both plums.
The rookie forward, though, snagged the defensive player of the year award, with averages of 11 rebounds and 1.6 steals complementing his 13 points per game numbers.
Completing the all-defensive team is Liwag, Santos, Jose Rizal University's Ivan Panapanaan and Mapua's Cyrus Nitura.
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