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Reyes, Villagomez win MVP awards
Finals MVP and IT&E’s Gillian Villagomez, right, dribbles past an Ol’Aces defender during their title match in the girls U18 division of the Diaz youth caging last month at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
IT&E’s Karleen Reyes and Gillian Villagomez swept the MVP awards in the girls U18 division of the 2017 Francisco M. Diaz Memorial Youth League.
Reyes took the regular season MVP plum, while Villagomez earned the Finals MVP trophy. The two players towed IT&E to a 64-48 title victory against the Ol’Aces. Villagomez and Reyes also made it to the Mythical Five Selection of the division, joining the Junior Ol’Aces’ Alliyah Fernandez and Desrei Camacho and the Lady Knights’ Quincy Chinen in the elite group.
Reyes went on to gain three individuals awards as she was also named scoring champion during the trophy presentation sponsored by Docomo Pacific. Besides the individual awards, Docomo Pacific handed team trophies, too with the Venus Sportsmanship Award, named after long-time basketball official and league organizer Abner Venus, going to the Lady Knights. IT&E, Ol’Aces, Junior Ol’Aces, and the Lady Knights were awarded the championship, first, second, and third runners-up trophies.
In the boys U15 division, the Ol’Aces got the championship trophy, while second placer 670 Sonics/PHI, third finisher NMI Rollers, and fourth placer Talaabwogh Young Warriors also earned awards. The Ol’Aces Extreme got the Venus Sportsmanship Award.
In the individual categories, the Ol’Aces’ Rikko Saralu went home with three awards—the regular and Finals MVP plums and a medal for his inclusion on the Mythical Five Selection. Saralu was in the company of the Ol’Aces Extreme’s Justin Laniyo, 670 Sonics’ Clarenz Contreras, Young Warriors’ Francisco Kumuch, and the NMI Rollers’ Sunjoon Tenorio, who was also named as the scoring champion in the division.
In the boys U18 division, the NMI/DYI Roller’s Kenji Abobo took the regular season MVP trophy, while the Ol’Aces’ Aiferson Atan got the Finals MVP award. Abobo also made it to the Mythical Five Selection along with the Ol’AcesÆ Dean Blake, Mount Carmel School’s Tony Deleon Guerrero, Natibu Warriors’ Rawhoo Sulap, and the Northside Wolves’ Duncan Laxa. Northside brought home the Venus Sportsmanship Award, while Laxa was handed the scoring champion trophy.
