These players were in a class of their own throughout the UAAP Season 87 High School Basketball Boys’ and Girls’ Tournaments.
With the elimination rounds coming to a close, we now have a clear view of this year’s top prospects in the UAAP Season 87 High School Basketball Tournaments. The numbers have spoken, and we have another special batch of young talents proving why they should be the names to watch as their amateur careers progress.
Here are the high school stars who topped the Statistical Points (SPs) race for UAAP Season 87.
Familiar faces in the boys’ division
In the boys’ division, it was De La Salle-Zobel’s Kieffer Alas who emerged as the top local performer at the end of the elimination rounds. The Grade 11 guard finished second behind Nazareth School-NU’s Collins Akowe in the SPs race but is expected to win Most Valuable Player due to the UAAP’s introduction of the Best Foreign Student Athlete award.
Alas finished with 91.429 SPs after putting up 20.07 points, 11.14 rebounds, 4.93 assists, and 1.07 steals per game in the elimination rounds, where he led the Junior Archers to a sixth-place finish with a 6-8 record.
The Grade 11 guard edged out FEU-Diliman’s Cabs Cabonillas as the top local, thanks to a 16-point, 14-rebound, and five-assist outing in the Junior Archers’ season-ending 71-61 win over the Baby Tamaraws last March 6.
Cabonillas finished with 90.071 SPs behind Alas, averaging 17.29 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as he led the Tamaraws to another Final Four berth with a 9-5 record. The Gilas Youth standout finished third overall in the boys’ SPs race.
Topping the boys’ SPs race is Nazareth School-NU’s Akowe with 105.786 points built on 20.79 points, 19.21 rebounds, 2.71 assists, and 1.79 blocks throughout eliminations. However, as mentioned, Akowe will likely take home the Best FSA plum instead of a back-to-back MVP award due to the UAAP’s updated regulations.
UST’s FSA Racine Kane finished fourth overall with 88.0 SPs after leading the Tiger Cubs with 17.15 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 2.08 steals across a 13-game stretch. Adamson Baby Falcons guard Mark Esperanza (76.385 SPs) rounds up the top five with averages of 16.08 points, 4.85 rebounds, 5.77 assists, and 1.62 steals for the defending champs.
Tight race in the girls’ tournament
Meanwhile, UST Junior Golden Tigress Barby Dajao topped the girls’ division with 105.5 SPs built on 15.17 points, 10.17 rebounds, 6.16 steals, and 4.33 assists in UST’s sweep of the six-game elimination rounds.
Similar to Alas and Cabonillas, Dajao was locked in a tight race with Nazareth School-NU’s Zaydhen Rosano for the top dog status. However, Dajao put up a 15-point, 15-rebound, and 11-assist triple-double in UST’s 91-66 win over NU last March 6 to ultimately overtake Rosano in the MVP race.
Rosano finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, and three steals in the said matchup. As a result, she settled for second place with 105.167 SPs built on 15.0 points, 8.33 rebounds, 6.83 assists, and 6.17 steals as one of the Lady Bullpups’ best players.
DLSZ’s Erica De Luna finished third in the girls’ SPs race with 102.167 points after leading the Junior Archers with 20.67 points, 9.83 rebounds, 4.83 assists, and 5.17 steals throughout eliminations.
De Luna also made history last March 3 as the first-ever player to record a quadruple-double in the UAAP, putting up 32 points 16 rebounds, 12 steals, and 11 assists in DLSZ’s season-ending win against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Completing the top five is UST’s Rhianne Perez with 98.25 SPs, and Nazareth School-NU’s Aubrey Lapsaran with 91.167 SPs.
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.