The Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals have turned around their fortunes due to one man, 19 year old Nigerian student-athlete Allwell Oraeme.
The NCAA’s leading rebounder and iron man this season led the team to the Final Four this season. Due to this, Oraeme will be awarded with three awards this season: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year.
Oraeme is the runaway winner for the MVP crown in amassing a Player Average Value of 69.97 points, nine points ahead of runner-up Art Dela Cruz of San Beda. In addition, he broke open the Rookie of the Year race as he is 17 statistical points ahead of Perpetual’s Bright Akhuetie, 52.88 SP’s.
The foreign student-athlete’s defensive prowess was also rewarded. After accumulating a total of 244 defensive rebounds this season, and adding 52 blocked shots and 13 steals in 18 games, Oraeme will also be crowned as the Defensive Player of the Year.
In other awards, the Mythical Five, or All-NCAA team, is a who’s who of the best the NCAA has to offer. Besides Oraeme, here are the four other student-athletes rounding up the All-NCAA team:
Art Dela Cruz (SBC) – 60.61 PAV
Scottie Thompson (UPHSD) – 57.72 PAV
Jio Jalalon (AU) – 55.67 PAV
Bright Akhuetie (UPHSD) – 52.88 PAV
Finally, for the Most Improved Player accolade, San Sebastian’s Michael Calisaan bested JRU’s Tey Teodoro to earn the award. Calisaan has upped all his averages this season as the San Sebastian Stags played spoilers to close-out the season.
Congratulations to all the awardees!
