MANILA, Philippines–Before Bella Belen and the National University chase a second crown, the league’s brightest star already tabbed one of her own on Wednesday.

The Lady Bulldogs cornerstone was named Season 87 Most Valuable Player ahead of the championship series’ Game 2 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

READ: UAAP: Bella Belen now a three-time MVP winner

With a whopping 96.226 statistical points to her name, Belen blew the competition out of the water, claiming her third MVP trophy in four seasons.

But she made sure NU was also going to bring home the hardware that matters.

“We promise, we won’t allow the crown to be taken from Jhocson,” Belen said, capping off an emotional speech thanking her family, teammates, and the rest of the Lady Bulldogs program, before leading her team to a title-clinching 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 finals sweep of La Salle.

READ: Degree earned, Bella Belen also has crown within her reach

With the feat, Belen joined an elite circle of three-time MVPs in the women’s division: Far Eastern’s Ailyn Ege, who made a hat-trick from 2001 through 2003, and Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez, who pulled off the same feat a decade later.

Belen beat out Adamson freshman Shaina Nitura for the top honor of the season, the latter missing out on the chance to match the the NU star’s historic feat of becoming the Rookie-MVP, which the former accomplished back in Season 84.

A product of the NU’s grassroots program, Belen also won the Best Outside Spiker honors, sharing the milestone with La Salle’s Angel Canino.