The action heated up in the final week of the UAAP basketball tournament’s first round. And fittingly, the Power Rankings also saw a lot of movement, with a new no. 1.
Each week, we will be naming the 10 best UAAP men’s basketball players in our Power Rankings based on their performances from the previous week. Statistics will always play a big part in determining the rankings, but we will also be looking at a player’s impact on his team’s win-loss record and if he came up with winning plays.
Week 4 was the wildest week yet in UAAP Season 87. The finals rematch, as expected, was a contentious affair, with spitting allegations and a near-clash in the locker room area of the Mall of Asia Arena. The UE Red Warriors pushed their winning streak to five thanks to Wello Lingolingo, whose clutch double-pump basket at the buzzer is a strong candidate for the shot of the season. Then there was a touching moment in the media room when NU coach Jeff Napa couldn’t hold back his tears after their big win over Ateneo.
With all that happening, here were the 10 best performers of Week 4:
1. Precious Momowei (UE Red Warriors)
Previous rank: 10th
Momowei makes a big leap from 10th last week to the top of this week’s rankings after leading the Red Warriors to back-to-back wins and five straight overall. He averaged 16.0 points and 13 rebounds in Week 4, highlighted by a no-relief 40-minute stint against the Blue Eagles. At the end of the first round, Momowei is averaging 11.6 points and 13.3 rebounds in a league-leading 34.4 minutes per game.
2. Kevin Quiambao (DLSU Green Archers)
Previous rank: 2nd
The Green Archers played just one game in Week 4, but it was a big one. In a rematch of the Season 96 finals, KQ showed he was the best player on the court, pouring in 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds as DLSU handed the UP Fighting Maroons their first loss of the season and reminded everyone that despite a loss to UE, the road to the title still goes through Taft Avenue.
3. Wello Lingolingo (UE Red Warriors)
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Red Warriors have been the surprise package of the first round, and Lingolingo is a big reason why. He had 13 points and 3 steals in UE’s comeback win over Ateneo, but his big moment came last Sunday when he rebounded a miss and buried an off-balanced bank shot to give the Warriors a 63-62 squeaker over the Adamson Falcons. Overall, he’s second in steals with 1.6 swipes at the end of the first round.
4. Mo Tounkara (UST Growling Tigers)
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Growling Tigers went 1-1 in Week 4 and are sitting in fourth spot with a 4-3 record at the end of the first round. Tounkara has been a huge boost for Coach Pido Jarencio, and his Week 4 numbers give him a strong case as one of the best foreign student athletes in Season 87. Against the Fighting Maroons, Tounkara shot 9-of-10 from the field and finished with 21 points. Then in their win against FEU, he had another 21 to go with 17 rebounds.
5. Harold Alarcon (UP Fighting Maroons)
Previous rank: 2nd
With leading scorer JD Cagulangan sidelined last week, Alarcon picked up the offensive slack, leading the Fighting Maroons in scoring in each of their Week 4 games. Alarcon dropped 16 points in UP’s win over UST then poured in 19 in the loss to DLSU. The one negative stat he had was a 0-of-4 output from beyond the arc against the Green Archers, part of a dismal 2-of-20 shooting night for the Maroons from that distance.
6. Forthsky Padrigao (UST Growling Tigers)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Padrigao’s shooting was off for the first three weeks of the season, as he was hitting less than 40% of his attempts. He finally got into an offensive groove in Week 4, shooting 10-of-20 and averaging 14.0 points in two games. He was also an effective playmaker, with 9.0 assists over those two games. He still needs to fix his outside shot, though, as he’s made just 12 of 47 three-point attempts.
7. Quentin Millora-Brown (UP Fighting Maroons)
Previous rank: 4th
QMB’s Week 4 performance was steady. Not spectacular or flashy, but steady, which is okay if you’re on a team as loaded as UP. He was one of just two Maroons who were consistent in the win against UST and the loss to DLSU, going 4-of-6 for 8 points and 4-of-5 for 10 points in each of those games. He’s still taking care of the boards, averaging 9.0 in Week 4, while adding 4 blocks against the Green Archers.
8. Jake Figueroa (NU Bulldogs)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Figueroa was listed in our top 10 players of UAAP Season 87, but because the Bulldogs struggled for most of the first round, he had trouble consistently making our Power Rankings. He’s finally back following a masterful 15-point effort against the Blue Eagles, which included a big triple late in the fourth that helped seal the win for NU.
9. Josh David (DLSU Green Archers)
Previous rank: Not ranked
The best Green Archer not named KQ for Week 4 was the point guard David, who did a solid quarterbacking job against the Fighting Maroons. He had 14 points, including four triples, 7 rebounds and 2 assists as he thoroughly outplayed his UP counterparts. It was a breakthrough game for David, who had been averaging only 3.5 points per game prior to the UP match-up.
10. Kenshin Padrones (NU Bulldogs)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Prior to their win over Ateneo, Padrones had been in the shadow of his more recognizable teammates like Figueroa and Steve Nash Enriquez. He finally broke out on Saturday, nearly tripling his scoring average with a team-high 18 points on an efficient 7-of-12 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. The Bulldogs will need more game lines like this from Padrones to dig themselves out of their 2-5 hole.
All Images from UAAP Media Bureau.