New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas ace Afril Bernardino continued to make history in the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League after capturing the first-ever Season Most Valuable Player award of the league’s professional era on Sunday.
It was another crowning moment for one of Philippine women’s basketball’s brightest stars, adding to her MVP honors from the league’s Invitational tournament earlier this year with Philippine Navy.
“Siyempre para sa akin, thankful ako kay God. Hindi Niya ako pinabayaan, ‘di Niya ako binigyan ng mga injuries. Sa mga sumuporta sa’kin, maraming salamat,” said Bernardino, who now aims to guide her team to the WMPBL’s first professional championship in Game 2 of the Finals against Discovery-Rizal later tonight.
“And siyempre, hindi ko naman makukuha ‘tong award na ‘to kung hindi dahil sa mga teammates ko syiempre. ‘Di lang naman ako ‘yung nagtrabaho sa loob, lahat sila. So sobrang proud din ako sa kanila,” she added.
Bernardino’s dominant performances in the Akari-presented regular season — including a 26-point, 21-rebound outing against Tagaytay-Tol and a 14-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple-double versus Discovery-Rizal — propelled her to the top of the MVP race, averaging 40.6 statistical points.
The 29-year-old do-it-all forward finished the preliminary round of the tournament with an all-around line of 15.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.9 steals, and 2.1 blocks over nine games, supported by sponsors Uratex, Black Mamba, Red Dynasty, Aktiv Balls, and Pocari Sweat.
Bernardino also led the Mythical Team, joined by Gabi Bade of Pangasinan-Solar Home (36.6 SPs), Allana Lim (34.7 SPs) and Tantoy Ferrer (31.3 SPs) of Discovery-Rizal, and fellow Valkyries teammate Snow Peñaranda (28.9 SPs).
(C) WMPBL Images
Bade, who finished second in the MVP race, averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 3.2 steals per game. She consistently showcased her all-around impact for the fifth-seeded Suns, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Perlas’ dynamic duo Lim and Ferrer played pivotal roles in guiding their team to the finals. Lim contributed 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while Ferrer put up 14.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
Peñaranda proved to be a crucial complement to Bernardino, chipping in 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per outing while helping anchor the Valkyries’ dominance on both ends of the floor.
The league also recognized exemplary officiating, naming Rizza Beros as Best Female Referee and Roderick Robles as Best Male Referee for the second time, honoring their standout work throughout the season.
