PAPATCHAYA Phontham added another first to EST Cola’s dream run in the 2026 PVL Invitational.
The 20-year-old Thai standout became the first player from a guest team to win the Premier Volleyball League Most Valuable Player award after leading EST Cola to the championship on Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Phontham was a force throughout the tournament, finishing second in scoring after the preliminary round with 97 points on 84 attacks, seven aces, and six blocks. She also ranked third in spiking efficiency at 35.74 percent and fourth in service with 0.37 aces per set to also claim the Best Opposite Spiker award.
READ: EST Cola sweeps Nxled to rule 2026 PVL Invitational
Her historic individual haul came as EST Cola became only the second guest team to win the tournament, following Kurashiki Ablaze’s title run in 2023.
Nxled’s Jonah Sabete-Escamillan and PLDT’s Savi Davison were named Best Outside Spikers after equally impressive preliminary-round campaigns.
Davison topped the scoring race with 135 points and ranked second in spiking efficiency at 37.97 percent, while also placing among the league’s best in reception and digging.
Escamillan, meanwhile, finished fifth in scoring with 84 points while ranking fifth in both blocks and aces. Her 47.62 percent reception efficiency was third-best in the field.
Davison earned her third All-Premier Team selection, while Escamillan made her first.
Creamline’s Jaja Santiago-Minowa and Nxled’s MJ Phillips took the Best Middle Blocker honors.
Minowa, who scored 92 points, led the league with 18 blocks to capture her second positional award. Phillips added 79 points and 14 blocks for her third All-Premier Team recognition.
Nxled’s Gel Cayuna collected her sixth Best Setter award after averaging 5.50 excellent sets per frame, while PLDT’s Kath Arado secured her seventh Best Libero selection.
Arado was particularly dominant on the floor, leading the league with 5.70 digs per set, well ahead of the next-best average of 3.43.
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