UST’s MVP Eka Soriano growls a tigress. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas star Eka Soriano lifted the title of UAAP Season 85 Women’s Basketball MVP Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Soriano is the MVP leader this season, garnering 92,286 statistical points. She’s also part of the Mythology team after averaging 14.36 points, 6.29 bounces, 7.14 assists, and 3.71 steals.
“I did not expect to win this. But I’m very proud of myself because I worked for it and my teammates too. We helped each other and our coach guided us. This is just a reward for me because our goal is to win the championship,” Soriano said in Filipino.
She became UST’s third consecutive MVP after Grace Irebu won two in a row in 2018 and 2019 and is the first Tigresses defender to be a top player since Marichu Bacaro in 2008. .
“It’s all because of our system. It’s a testament to how good Coach Haydee Ong and our coaches are at winning three consecutive MVPs,” she said.
Soriano raised UST to a 11-3 finish on the third seed and forced to play rubber against La Salle in the Finals but still did not make it to the Finals.
UAAP Season 85 Women’s Basketball Award Winners. –UAAP PHOTO
Ateneo’s Kacey Dela Rosa won rookie of the year after scoring 77.0 stats and averaging 16.42 points, and was also the league’s player of the year with 14.08 bounces and 3.08 saves.
Dela Rosa, distant MVP runner-up, was also part of a mythical team that included her teammate Jhazmin Joson, who finished with 74,714 SP, UST’s Tacky Tacatac (73,429 SP) and Adamson’s Victoria Adeshina (72,214 SP).
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After winning her first MVP award, Soriano encouraged fans to continue supporting Philippine women’s basketball, which has reached another level with UAAP’s comeback during this pandemic.
“I hope women’s basketball gets more exposure. Philippines has a lot of good players. We are not just girls, we can also play and achieve what men can do. I hope we will get the same attention because we have players who can also play abroad one day,” Soriano said.
The UST star vows to keep making progress as she looks to take home the championship for her school, which won the women’s basketball title last time in Season 69.
“My goal for next year is to win the championship,” Soriano said. “I still have a lot to improve on. We have to improve together as a team. We will all have to work hard.”
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