Oraeme's pair of monster games earn him NCAA Player of the Week nod

MANILA, Philippines -- Allwell Oraeme is one of the reasons why Mapua is on a hot streak right now in the NCAA Season 91 seniors basketball cage wars.

The Nigerian reinforcement grabbed a season-high 30 rebounds in each of the Cardinals’ last two victories that earned him an ACCEL Quantum/3XVI-NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week.

Aside from rebounding, Oraeme also contributed in scoring for his team, having 18 points in Mapua’s 82-77 win over Letran last Tuesday before posting 15 points in the Cardinals’ 81-76 victory over Arellano last Friday.

Oraeme’s double-double efforts put the Cardinals on the right track for a Final Four berth, extending the team’s winning streak to six games en route to a 10-5 win-loss record. Mapua is currently in a tie for fourth place with Arellano in a tight battle for Final Four seedings.

Mapua assistant coach Ed Cordero, whose team remained undefeated in the second round, said the 19-year-old Oraeme can still play better in the years to come since he is just a rookie.

“He is still very raw. Watch out when he matures. We’ve been telling him to be patient and be coachable because there are brighter things to come for him,” said Cordero, who took the cudgels for Mapua this week with head coach Atoy Co suspended.

"Every coach will tell you that rebounding is all about will. He just wants to get that rebound," Cordero added.

Oraeme beat Scottie Thompson of Perpetual Help and Paolo Pontejos of Jose Rizal University in the weekly awards given by sports scribes covering the oldest collegiate league in the country.