UST’s Imee Hernandez erupts for UAAP career-high 24, earns Player of the Week nod

MANILA, Philippines – For the second week in a row, España will boast of having a UAAP Player of the Week in its midst, as the Collegiate Press Corps selected UST middle Imee Hernandez as the league’s standout star from April 12 to 16

Winning a tight vote against reigning MVP Bella Belen of National University, Hernandez turned heads last Saturday, April 15, with a UAAP career-high outing of 24 points, built mostly off unreturnable quick attacks and timely blocks against now-eliminated Ateneo.

With a performance that effectively ended the Blue Eagles’ 14-year streak of Final Four appearances, the UST standout bested her teammate and last week’s pick Eya Laure, La Salle’s Angel Canino, and Ateneo’s Faith Nisperos for the award that has MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey as minor sponsors.

“My mindset is just to do my role, know what I have to do inside the court, and of course show the maturity that we’re supposed to have as seniors,” Hernandez said in Filipino.

“We won’t stop and we’re not satisfied with just this. We have to keep besting ourselves. As coach [Kungfu Reyes] said, every day we have to do better than what we did in the last one.”

Thanks to herculean efforts from the likes of Hernandez and Laure, UST is one win away from a Final Four spot with an 8-3 record, and has a legitimate shot for twice-to-beat advantage once the elimination round winds down.

Golden Tigresses fans can only hope that this level of excellence can be sustained as they next take on FEU, NU, and UP, in that order, to wrap up their road to the playoffs. – Rappler.com