UP's Akhuetie cops UAAP 81 MVP plum

MANILA, Philippines – As expected, University of the Philippines’ Bright Akhuetie emerged as the Most Valuable Player of the 81st UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

The Nigerian center was the runaway winner of the season’s highest individual accolade after earning a total of 82.5 statistical points (SPs) after the double-round elimination.

Akhuetie was responsible in the Fighting Maroons’ historic campaign this season, ending the school’s 21-year Final Four drought as UP copped the No. 3 seed with an 8-6 win-loss record.

He will be the first Maroon to bag such honor since Eric Altamirano, who won the Finals MVP after leading the Diliman-based school to its first and only UAAP title in 1986. The league did not award a regular season MVP that year.

Ateneo’s Ivorian center Angelo Kouame finished second with 76.21 SPs but won’t be part of the Mythical Five based on the league’s ruling that only one foreign-athlete should be part of the elite group.

But the 19-year-old Kouame will bag the Rookie of the Year honor, beating the equally talented CJ Cansino of University of the Santo Tomas.

Joining Akhuetie in the Myhtical Five are University of the East’s Alvin Pasaol (74.57), UP southpaw guard Juan Gomez de Liano (63.86), La Salle’s vastly improved big man Justine Baltazar (61.26) and Adamson sniper Jerrick Ahanmisi (58.38).

Cansino missed the cut for the Mythical Five with 57.30 SPs for seventh spot and he was followed by Adamson’s Sean Manganti (56.84) and Papi Sarr (55.64), Blue Eagle forward Thirdy Ravena (55.23) and UP’s Paul Desiderio (54.35).