Cabonilas, Perez bag MVP honors

Two of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines’ (UAAP) brightest young basketball stars were honored with well-deserved awards on Sunday.

Cabs Cabonilas of Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU-D) and Rhianne Perez of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) were crowned Most Valuable Players (MVP) of the UAAP Season 88 high school basketball tournaments at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Cabonilas, a graduating forward from Davao, became the third Baby Tamaraw to win the top individual award in boys' basketball, following Terrence Romeo in UAAP Season 72 (2009) and Jerie Pingoy in Seasons 74 and 75 (2011–2012).

“First, I thank God for giving me this award. This is not for me — this is for my teammates and for my family,” said Cabonilas, whose squad is playing National University Nazareth School (NUNS) in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals series at press time.

“We’re now entering the finals, so we have to work hard and do our best.”

Meanwhile, Perez, a 17-year-old guard from Iloilo City and last season’s Rookie of the Year, kept the girls’ basketball MVP award in UST, following her senior Barby Dajao’s win last year.

Cabonilas amassed 83.286 statistical points, fueled by his averages of 15.79 points, 8.86 rebounds, 3.79 assists, 1.79 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

Perez, on the other hand, totaled 103.5 SPs thanks to her averages of 14.83 points, 8.83 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 4.83 steals per game.

Both players are also making their second appearances in the Elite Team.

Joining Cabonilas in the Men’s Elite Team were Ateneo’s Jude Eriobu (99.587 SPs), De La Salle-Zobel's (DLSZ) Maco Dabao (71.286), University of Santo Tomas’ Kirk Cañete (69.5) and Ateneo’s Jay-M. Leal (66.214).

Perez led the Women’s Elite Team alongside NUNS’ Zayden Rosano (101.167 SPs), NUNS’ Aubrey Lapasaran (82.667), and UST’s Indonesian center Koukou Talla (76.0) and Lea Piñuela (74.333).

With Eriobu topping the boys' statistical points chart, the Nigerian big man was also named Best Foreign Student-Athlete for the season.

Moussa Diakite and Ruiza Olmos, both from NUNS, were named Rookie of the Year in their respective divisions.

Diakite, a 6-foot-10 Malian big man, led the Bullpups to the Junior High School Basketball championship last December and earned a spot in that division’s Elite Team.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the DLSZ Junior Lady Archers were also recognized, receiving their third-place trophies during the awards ceremony.