By Leobert Julian A. de a Peña
The reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player (MVP) is here.
After steering the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers to their first UAAP championship title after a seven-year drought, breakout player and versatile forward star Kevin Quiambao is ready to take his talent to Strong Group Philippines and will reinforce them in the upcoming 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship tournament this January.
It was the management who made everything official last January 6, 2024 during an official team announcement made on social media.
Fresh off a historic UAAP season with the Green Archers, Quiambao finished the title-clinching run on a whole new level and became the squad’s cornerstone alongside Evan Nelle, Mark Nonoy, and Mike Phillips.
Quiambao finished the preliminary phase with an impressive stat line of 16.71 points, 10.86 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.93 steals per game before helping his team take down the NU Bulldogs in the Final Four and the UP Fighting Maroons in the finals.
He also became the first local MVP of the UAAP since 2015 and led all candidates with a total of 97.0 Statistical Points.
UAAP’s last local MVP was Kiefer Ravena of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles during the 2015 season. However, the next six titles were already awarded to several foreign student-athletes from 2016-2022.
Quiambao will team up with ex-NBA stars Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche, and Andre Roberson in Dubai, one of the opportunities that the star can’t miss for the buildup of the next UAAP season.
Aside from Quiambao, it was also confirmed that DLSU head coach Topex Robinson was also tapped to become one of the assistant coaches for Strong Group.
Francis Escandor, Quiambao’s teammate in De La Salle who lifted the team to the finals with his efficient three-point shooting, was also recruited to play in Dubai.
