MANILA, Philippines – De La Salle University center Ben Mbala capped a dominant individual campaign in the UAAP Season 79 tournament by winning the Most Valuable Player trophy in runaway fashion, while teammates Jeron Teng and Aljun Melecio will also take home awards of their own.
The Cameroonian Mbala, who transferred from Southwestern University to La Salle, averaged 20.6 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game in his first season in Taft, and finished the season with 92.43 statistical points (SPs).
He held a massive lead over Adamson University's Papi Sarr, who finished a distant second with 69.86 SPs.
The other forward in the Mythical Five is Far Eastern University's Raymar Jose (53.64 SPs). The hard-working Jose was the anchor of the Tamaraws' title defense, averaging 11.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
Completing the UAAP Season 79 Mythical Five are guards Paul Desiderio of the University of the Philippines (55.14 SPs) and Thirdy Ravena of the Ateneo de Manila University (49.14 SPs).
Ravena actually finished sixth in the overall statistical points race but made the team in place of Sarr and National University's Alfred Aroga (49.5 SPs), who plays the same position as Mbala.
Meanwhile, the sweet-shooting Melecio is the second straight La Sallian to take home the Rookie of the Year trophy, following the footsteps of last year's winner Andrei Caracut.
A former Juniors MVP, Melecio finished with 36.57 SPs, good for 23rd in the league, after his first season in the seniors' division in which he averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 33% from beyond the arc.
Melecio won the plum ahead of Adamson's Jerrick Ahanmisi, who actually finished with more SPs, 44.5, but was revealed to not be a true freshman after taking a gap year upon his high school graduation before enrolling in San Marcelino.
In the women's division, National University's Afril Bernardino is once again the MVP after tallying 91.86 SPs and helping the Lady Bulldogs sweep the elimination round.
Bernardino is joined in the Mythical Five by teammates Gemma Miranda (79.46 SPs) and Jack Animan (72.21 SPs) and La Salle's Snow Peñaranda (58.64 SPs), and University of the East's Love Sto. Domingo (71.36 SPs).
The players will receive their trophies on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum, ahead of Game 2 of the UAAP Season 79 Finals between the De La Salle Green Archers and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
The UAAP will also honor athletes who competed in international competitions in the past year, including Olympians Jessie Lacuna (Ateneo, swimming) and Ian Lariba (La Salle, table tennis). Several athletes who competed in the ASEAN University Games in Singapore will also be recognized.
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