Ateneo, San Beda grab spotlight in Collegiate Basketball Awards

Ateneo and San Beda will be receiving most of the trophies to be given in the Collegiate Basketball Awards night on Monday at the Topaz 1 of the Gateway Suites in Quezon City. The last collegiate season was a banner year for both Ateneo and San Beda, as they each claimed the UAAP and NCAA men’s basketball titles, resulting in the Blue Eagles and the Red Lions getting the bulk of the individual awards. Ateneo coach Norman Black and San Beda mentor Frankie Lim head the list of 10 awardees from both schools which will be honored in the 7 p.m. event organized by the UAAP and NCAA Press Corps and supported by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA). Black and Lim will each receive the UAAP and NCAA Coach of the Year awards for guiding their respective teams to the finals of their own leagues. NCAA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Sudan Daniel of San Beda and Ateneo’s Kirk Long lead the cast in the Collegiate Mythical Team that also includes UAAP MVP RR Garcia and Aldrech Ramos of Far Eastern University, and San Sebastian’s Calvin Abueva. Blue Eagle Eric Salamat and Red Lion Borgie Hermida will be given the Super Senior awards while Garvo Lanete of San Beda and Ryan Buenafe of Ateneo will receive the Pivotal Player honors. Even their junior players will be commended in the awards night, as sought-after high school standouts Kiefer Ravena of Ateneo and Baser Amer of San Beda were named Juniors Player of the Year by the group of writers from various broadsheets and tabloids covering the collegiate basketball beat. Posthumous awards will be given to Abante photographer John Paulino, former UAAP and NCAA deputy commissioner Tanny Gonzales, and web writer Quincy Reyes, who recently passed away. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV