Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Prince Eze may be leading the Most Valuable Player race, but he won’t get the award at the end of the season.
The Nigerian big man’s hopes of claiming NCAA Season 93 MVP award was dashed after Perpetual’s 55-50 defeat to San Beda on Tuesday.
That eliminated the Altas out of the playoff race with their 4-10 record, stopping Eze from following the footsteps of Jojo Manalo and Earl Scottie Thompson as the only Alta to win the highest individual award.
The 6-foot-11 center has been the pacesetter at the end of the first round after averaging 15.5 points, 17.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in the 14 games he played for the Altas.
But his candidacy came to a screeching halt owing to the league’s ruling disallowing players from non-Final Four teams from staking their claim for the MVP plum.
The last non-Final Four player to win the highest individual award was St. Benilde’s Jay Sagad in Season 81 back in 2005 after the Blazers finished sixth out of eight teams with their 5-9 record. That instance prompted the NCAA to change its rules and give premium to players who led their team to the Final Four to win the MVP award.
Eze, though, can still get a consolation as he can still make it to the Mythical Team at the end of the season, granting that his numbers won’t dip or he won’t be ejected for Perpetual’s last four elimination games.
He was earlier named as the All-Star MVP during the midseason festivities.
With Eze out of the MVP race, that opens the gates for other contenders to win the hardware.
Now leading the race is Lyceum’s CJ Perez, who has been averaging 18.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals through the Pirates’ current 15-0 run.
Also in the running are San Beda forward Javee Mocon (12.5 points, and 10.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), Lyceum big man Mike Nzeusseu (10.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks), and Letran swingman Rey Nambatac (16.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists).