Benilde’s Allen Liwag earns NCAA MVP honors, bags 3 more awards

MANILA, Philippines – St. Benilde star Allen Liwag set himself apart from the rest of the NCAA as the only player to average a double-double.

And his standout campaign bore fruit as Liwag earned four individual awards, including the Most Valuable Player honors, for the Season 100 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, December 7, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Liwag, who garnered 52.38 Player Average Value (PAV) points, produced 14.6 points and 11.3 rebounds to go with 2.3 assists and 1.2 blocks in the elimination round to power the Blazers to the second seed, and eventually, the finals.

Denying Mapua ace Clint Escamis‘ back-to-back MVP bid, the 6-foot-6 Liwag became just the fourth St. Benilde player to win the highest individual award after Sunday Salvacion (2002), Jay Sagad (2005), and Will Gozum (2022).

Escamis still made the Mythical Five with averages of 15.4 points, 4.0 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals for 41.44 PAV.

Aside from Escamis, joining Liwag in the Mythical Five were his St. Benilde teammate Tony Ynot (39.64), Lyceum stalwart John Barba (40.83), and San Sebastian workhorse Tristan Felebrico (39.5).

Letran ace Jimboy Estrada made a strong case for the MVP, Rookie of the Year, and the Mythical Five by putting up 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.0 steal, but his one-game suspension disqualified him from the awards.

A two-way player, Liwag also got named the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) and bannered the All-Defensive Team alongside Felebrico, Letran’s Kevin Santos, Arellano’s Lorenz Capulong, and EAC’s Wilmar Oftana.

Liwag became only the sixth player in NCAA history to win MVP and DPOY in the same season after San Beda’s Sam Ekwe (2006) and Sudan Daniel (2010), Letran’s Raymond Almazan (2013), Mapua’s Allwell Oraeme (2015 and 2016), Perpetual’s Prince Eze (2018).

Oftana bagged the Most Improved Player plum.

Meanwhile, Mapua’s Chris Hubilla claimed both Rookie of the Year and Freshman of the Year plums after averaging 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

Eligible players for Rookie of the Year include transferees from other leagues, while the Freshman of the Year is given only to those who are playing their first year in college. – Rappler.com