Jeo Ambohot capped off his collegiate journey with a bang after taking home the Finals Most Valuable Player award in Letran’s title conquest against Mapua in the NCAA Season 97, Sunday night.
The 6-foot-7 stretch forward, who averaged 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game in the finals, dropped 14 points and nine rebounds in the title-clinching, 75-65 Game Two victory over the Cardinals.
Indeed, it was a fitting end to Ambohot’s roller coaster collegiate journey which saw him become part of the Gilas cadet program in his rookie year, play stagnant in his sophomore and junior seasons, before eventually making his way back up and becoming a key contributor in the Knights’ back-to-back titles.
“Sobrang saya talaga kasi pag exit ko ng Letran may napatunayan din ako,” said the 25-year-old native of Compostela Valley, who also made it to this season’s All-NCAA team.
“Para rin sa Letran, sa pamilya namin, sa mga mahal namin sa buhay, yun binigay ko lang yung best ko kasi nung summer parang wala kami e.”
Letran was completely in control of the game before Mapua slashed the Knights’ 21-point advantage to just six points in the final three minutes of the game. But according to Ambohot, the team was never rattled during that span.
After all, they already beat the Cardinals two times in the season prior to Game Two.
“Instict lang saka champion kami dati e. Tinalo na namin sila nang dalawang beses e, so alam namin na kaya namin. Yun lang inisip namin, na kayang kaya namin silang talunin,” said Ambohot.
The Finals MVP plum is surely a huge boost for the PBA-bound Ambohot, who was recently selected as the third overall pick of the rookie draft.
Now that his stint as a Knight is done, he is looking forward to helping the FiberXers in their maiden campaign in the pros.
Photo by PBA Images
“Siguro may mga nanood din na coaches [ng Converge]. Sana nagustuhan nila yung laro ko, sana makapirma,” Ambohot said in jest.
