By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
De La Salle University (DLSU) superstar forward Kevin Quiambao is currently the No. 1 candidate for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after the first round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament.
After the first seven games in the prestigious PHL collegiate basketball tourney, Quiambao led all players in statistical points, amassing a tally of 84.715.
Quiambao’s 84.715 SP was built from his 118 points, 67 rebounds, 36 assists, eight steals, and six blocks in DLSU’s first seven games.
His heroics led the Green Archers to a fourth-spot finish heading into the second round and will look to sustain his fine play in the final phase of the UAAP preliminaries.
Reigning UAAP MVP Malick Diouf of the UP Fighting Maroons was placed second with 78.413 SP backstopped by his double-double average after the first round.
Completing the cast of the top five members for the MVP race are DLSU’s Evan Nelle, UE’s Rey Remogat, and FEU’s L-Jay Gonzales.
The second round will be kicking off today at the Mall of Asia Arena with the Green Archers seeking to rack up its second-straight victory against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers.
DLSU is now in a tight spot for a seat in the Final Four as the Adamson University Soaring Falcons are just a win away from equalizing their UAAP record.
The Green Archers finished the first round with a 4-3 win-loss record and are behind the Fighting Maroons and the National University (NU) Bulldogs.
Both UP and NU are tied in the team standings with an identical 6-1 record but the Fighting Maroons held a slight edge over the Bulldogs after outdueling them in their first-round matchup.
