MANILA, Philippines - The top performers in this year’s UAAP and NCAA men’s basketball will be feted tonight as the UAAP-NCAA Press Corps and Smart hold the Collegiate Basketball Awards at Saisaki-Kamayan EDSA in Greenhills.
Coaches Juno Sauler of De La Salle and Boyet Fernandez of San Beda head the roster of winners in the annual event held by scribes from various national broadsheets, tabloids and websites covering the collegiate basketball beat.
Sauler and Fernandez were chosen as Coach(es) of the Year in their respective leagues for guiding their teams to the championship right on their rookie season.
Also up for grabs is the Smart Player of the Year, which will be given to one player who exemplified on-court brilliance, class and sportsmanship.
Vying for honors are members of this year’s Collegiate Mythical Five composed of Far Eastern University’s Terrence Romeo, Letran’s Raymond Almazan, De La Salle’s Jeron Teng, San Beda’s Ola Adeogun and National University’s Bobby Ray Parks.
Key members of La Salle and San Beda will also be honored in the event backed by Smart Sports, Accel 3XV1, Gatorade, Meralco, Talk ‘N Text, Filoil Flying V, UAAP Season 76 host Adamson, NCAA Season 89 host College of St. Benilde and the Philippine Sportswriters Association.
Others to be cited are Arnold Van Opstal and Art dela Cruz (Pivotal Player), Jason Perkins and Baser Amer (Impact Player) and Rome dela Rosa (Super Senior).
University of Santo Tomas’ Jeric Teng and FEU’s RR Garcia will also be given the Super Senior award, an honor awarded to players who excelled during their final year of eligibility.