UP import Diouf is UAAP MVP
SENEGAL’s Malick Diouf of University of the Philippines is set to become the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball Most Valuable Player.
The 6-foot-11 Diouf, the Season 84 Finals MVP, carried the Fighting Maroons to a 11-3 record to finish second in the elimination round.
Diouf topped Ateneo’s Forthsky Padrigao and last season’s MVP Ange Kouame, for the highest individual award.
University of Santo Tomas’ Eka Soriano, meanwhile, is projected to win the season MVP honors in the women’s division.
Soriano was the runaway winner, besting the Blue Eagles’ 1-2 punch of Jhaz Joson and Kacey dela Rosa.
Diouf, who started all of UP’s 14 games, posted double-double averages of 10.79 points and 10.86 rebounds this season to go with 2.86 assists, 1.57 blocks and 1.5 steals per contest.
With 73.857 statistical points, Diouf will become the first Fighting Maroon to capture the season MVP award since Nigerian Bright Akhuetie in 2018.
Padrigao finished second with 71.571 SPs, while Kouame settled for third with 70.786.
The do-it-all Soriano powered the Tigresses to a 11-3 record in third place, averaging 14.36 points, 7.14 assists, 6.29 rebounds and 3.71 steals per game.
Tallying 92.286 SPs, Soriano followed the footsteps of UST’s Congolese center Grace Irebu, who won back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Dela Rosa was far second with 77 SPs, while Joson placed third with 74.714.
