Kevin Quiambao has just joined an elite list of La Salle bigs.
The 6-foot-4 all-around forward from Muntinlupa City was crowned the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Quiambao becomes the fifth Green Archer to win the league’s highest individual honor after Jun Limpot (Seasons 52, 53, and 55 — 1989, 1990, 1992), Mark Telan (Seasons 59 and 60 — 1996, 1997), Don Allado (Seasons 61 and 62 — 1998, 1999), and Ben Mbala (Seasons 79 and 80 — 2016, 2017).
Quiambao and the Green Archers will still face the UP Fighting Maroons in Game 2 of the Finals.
“Unang una, thank you Lord na nakuha ko itong award na ito. Credit sa lahat ng mga teammates ko, coaching staff, at sa lahat ng boosters ng La Salle,” said the 22-year-old out of Muntinlupa City, also noting that the job is not yet done for the season.
Quiambao also swept the three special awards, Acer of the Season, PSBankable Player of the Season, and Hyundai Stargazer X Exceptional Player of the Season, bagging a total of P200,000.
Quiambao, last season’s Rookie of the Year, was miles ahead in the race.
He averaged 16.71 points, 10.86 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.93 steals per game in the elimination round, amassing 97.0 statistical points.
Joining Quiambao in the Mythical Team are University of the East’s Noy Remogat, La Salle’s Evan Nelle, University of the Philippines’ Malick Diouf, and Far Eastern University’s L-Jay Gonzales.
Remogat, a sophomore guard, posted averages of 16.5 points, 7.86 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, accumulating 85.929 SPs.
Nelle, a member of the NCAA Season 95 Mythical Team when he was still with San Beda and is in his final year with La Salle, earned 77.538 SPs with stats of 11.31 points, 6.85 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per contest.
Season 85’s MVP Malick Diouf secured the fourth spot with 74.769 SPs after averaging 12.08 points, 13.23 rebounds, 1.62 blocks, and 1.15 steals per game.
Finally, Gonzales, another graduating senior, achieved 66.857 SPs with averages of 14.79 points, 7.79 rebounds, 3.14 assists, and 2.0 steals.
Remogat, Nelle, and Gonzales are first-time members of the All-UAAP Five, while Diouf, the Season 84 Finals MVP, makes the team for the second straight season.
The top rookie for the season was UP’s Francis Lopez, the sixth Maroon to win the award after Eric Altamirano (Season 46 – 1983), Woody Co (Season 69 – 2006), Kyles Lao (Season 76 – 2013), Juan Gómez de Liaño (Season 80 – 2017), and Carl Tamayo (Season 84 – 2021).
