Race for the UAAP MVP Week 2: Ravena leads the pack

MANILA, Philippines – Starting from today, Friday, July 25, onward, Rappler will release a column dedicated to bringing UAAP basketball fans the leaders for the league’s Most Valuable Player of the Year award race week in and week out.

Using the official formula created by the UAAP to determine its MVP, Rappler will compute the statistics of the tournament’s top players on a weekly basis to determine which crop of stars are separating themselves from the rest of the cast.

(Note: This list was conducted by Rappler and by no means is the official tally of the UAAP.) 

1. Kiefer Ravena, Ateneo Blue Eagles

The start to Ravena’s seasons in 2013 and 2013 are a tale of two very different stories.

After opening Season 76 sidelined with a foot injury, ‘The Phenom’ has come out with guns ablaze in Season 77. Leading the Blue Eagles to a 3-0 start, which includes a statement win over defending champion La Salle, Ravena is averaging 23.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 2.0 SPG out of the gates and doesn’t look like he’s going to stop anytime soon.

The gap between Ravena and the rest of the league isn’t even close. Right now, there’s no question who’s at the top of the UAAP pyramid.

2. Arvin Tolentino, Ateneo Blue Eagles

At number two is Ravena’s teammate and rookie, Arvin Tolentino. The former San Beda Red Cub has had such an impressive opening act to his collegiate career that it has landed him at second place after two weeks of UAAP action. After exploding for 20 points and 8 rebounds against UP on Wednesday, July 23, Tolentino increased his averages to 15.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG.

His head coach, Bo Perasol, said after the win against the Fighting Maroons that “the best is yet to come” for Tolentino. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.

3 and 4: Jason Perkins, De La Salle Green Archers; Chris Newsome, Ateneo Blue Eagles

Jason Perkins has been the best player thus far for DLSU, not to mention the most versatile. Besides increasing his scoring output to 16.7 PPG so far in Season 77 and keeping his rebounding numbers high at 9.3 RPG, Perk’s floor-spreading ability and deceptive quickness on defense has allowed La Salle head coach Juno Sauler to play him at the 3 along with two other bigs, making La Salle’s tall frontcourt even more towering.

Perk has continued to perform well in the clutch, too, as proven by his crunch-time production to lead the Green Archers over the NU Bulldogs on Wednesday.

Newsome, on the other hand, hasn’t received as much recognition as Ravena or Tolentino – maybe even less than Von Pessumal – but his numbers have earned him a top seat at the MVP race. 

The New Mexico native has helped his team in different fronts with averages of 12.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG so far this year. Ravena and Tolentino have been the best players for the Blue Eagles in Season 77, but the contributions of Newsome have been nearly as valuable as those of the two aforementioned players.

5. Moustapha Arafat, UE Red Warriors

Another freshman in the MVP race is UE’s Arafat, who despite scoring just 6.5 PPG in Season 77, has pulled down 12.5 RPG and swatted 2.5 BPG. Moreover, Arafat’s presence has awarded UAAP fans with at least one thrilling dunk in every UE contest.

The Red Warriors are a better team this year defensively, and Arafat’s inclusion has a lot to do with that. 

6. Roi Sumang, UE Red Warriors

Under a new coach in Derrick Pumaren, Sumang has been asked to refine his game from being last year’s score-first playmaker to a more pass-first court general. The result has been great, as the Red Warriors have raced off to a 2-0 record, albeit against two teams pundits predict to be the cellar-dwellers of the UAAP.

Nonetheless, the UE spitfire is still putting up 11.0 PPG and leads the league along with Ateneo’s Nico Elorde in assists with 6.0 APG. Sumang’s also been rebounding well, with 4.5 RPG.

7 and 8: Karim Abdul, UST Growling Tigers; Mark Belo, FEU Tamaraws

Abdul hasn’t gotten off to a great start, but he’s still putting up 13.5 PPG and 8.5 RPG. UST’s win over FEU on Sunday, July 20, should also give the Growling Tigers some confidence moving forward as they aim to make a third straight trip to the finals.

To help achieve that, Abdul might have to cut down on his 4.5 turnovers per game clip, though.

Belo, meanwhile, has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Tamaraws. If not for a technical foul, the FEU big would have been higher on this list. Nevertheless, 19.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG are still impressive numbers.

9. Gino Jumao-as, UE Red Warriors

Jumao-as has played great so far this UAAP season, with numbers such as 11.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG. The UE standout has been like a Swiss army knife for the Red Warriors, and the team is going to need similar performances from him moving forward if they are to make a run at the Final Four.

10. Mike Tolomia, FEU Tamaraws

Tolomia exploded out of the gates after his superstar-like performance against La Salle on opening day, Saturday, July 12, but UST’s wing defenders managed to cool him down on Sunday. Still, it’s clear Tolomia will most likely remain an MVP candidate as the season goes by. 

Add that with Belo’s production, and the Tamaraws may end up not missing RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo at all. – Rappler.com