For Far Eastern University-Diliman’s graduating forward Cabs Cabonilas, a sense of redemption has finally arrived — just not in the way most would expect.
After narrowly losing the statistical points race — and ultimately, the Most Valuable Player plum — to Kieffer Alas on the final day of eliminations in Season 87, Cabonilas made sure he would not suffer another heartbreak.
In the UAAP Season 88 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament, the 6-foot-4 do-it-all forward stamped his class from start to finish, topping the SP race with 83.286 points. He built this on averages of 15.79 points, 8.86 rebounds, 3.79 assists, 1.79 steals, and 1.5 blocks, leading the Baby Tamaraws to an 11-3 run in the elimination round.
The feat also placed him in rare air, as Cabonilas is about to become the first player from FEU-D to win the MVP award since Jerie Pingoy captured the honor in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012.
“Siyempre, ngayon nakuha ko ‘yan, masaya ako ngayon. Ang sa akin, hindi para sa akin lang ‘yan — sa buong team ko ‘yan at sa coaches. Para sa kanila rin kasi tinulungan nila ako at pinush nila ako,” Cabonilas said.
But for the native of Digos City, individual recognition, while rewarding, is far from the ultimate goal of his redemption drive in his final year with the Baby Tamaraws.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
For Cabonilas, the MVP plum serves merely as an added incentive to a bigger mission he has carried since stepping onto the court in Season 88: to leave the program the same way he entered it.
A champion.
The 19-year-old forward was part of the FEU-D squad that captured its most recent UAAP boys’ basketball title in Season 85. Now, as his high school career nears its end, Cabonilas stands on the brink of a coveted full-circle moment — one that could define his legacy with the program far more than any individual award.
Standing in the way of his second UAAP boys’ basketball title is the redemption-seeking National University Nazareth School. Game 1 of their best-of-three Finals will tip off this Sunday, March 22, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
“Siyempre, kulang pa kasi sa buong team namin, gusto naming makuha yung championship,” Cabonilas shared.
Inside the FEU-D camp, the celebration goes beyond redemption — and no one embodies that joy more than first-year head coach Mike Reyes.
For him, Cabonilas’ MVP is not just a testament to his individual brilliance, but also a validation that even within Reyes’ system — where the ball is shared and everyone is involved — his star forward still thrived, making the recognition even more meaningful.
“Siyempre sa lahat, I told Cabs, hindi lang ako ma-ano sa social media, but ako yung pinakamasaya na sa last year niya, nakuha niya yung MVP. But, nakuha niya yung MVP on how we played,” Reyes shared.
“Hindi sa kanya lagi bola ‘eh, we moved the ball palagi, pero MVP pa rin siya. The system that I wanted to instill, nagagawa namin, tapos MVP pa rin siya. Siyempre, doble ang saya ko doon. Kasi, if he has the ball every time, madali lang ‘yan. When we keep moving.”
