Bryan Bagunas’ in Taiwan’s Top Volleyball League. –BRYAN BAGUNAS INSTAGRAM
MANILA, Philippines — Bryan Bagunas ended his first Taiwan stint becoming the first Filipino volleyball player to win an MVP award overseas.
The Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association on Wednesday announced that Bagunas was crowned as Top Volleyball League’s MVP after leading Win Streak to its first championship.
Bagunas scored 520 points in the regular season, nailing 453 attacks, 40 blocks, and 27 aces to power his team to the regular season championship with a tournament-best 16-3 record, including 10 straight games in the second half of the preliminary round.
The 6-foot-5 outside hitter tied his career-high 42 points in a do-or-die Finals Game 3 on Monday as his club Win Streak earned its maiden Taiwan Top League crown after dethroning Pingtung Taipower, 19-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12.
–BRYAN BAGUNAS INSTAGRAM
Bagunas became the first Philippine men’s volleyball team member to capture a title overseas and the second Filipino of this era to become a champion after Jaja Santiago helped the Saitama Ageo Medics to win in Japan V.Cup in 2021.
The 25-year-old played three seasons for Oita Miyoshi in Japan V.League before deciding to take his act to Taiwan this year.
Bagunas was supposed to play for Imus-Ivy Tuason Photography in the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference but he didn’t make it due to his ongoing Finals series in the Top Volleyball League, where he played three straight games in the championship.
The former UAAP MVP out of National University will fly home to the country in the coming days but he won’t see action for the Philippine men’s volleyball team in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia due to his wedding preparations with longtime partner Nicole Tracy Tan.
Winning the TVL MVP and championship became Bagunas’ biggest achievement on top of his multiple individual awards and titles from the UAAP and Spikers’ Turf.