Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Ken Batas is the MVP of UAAP Season 87 men’s volleyball tournament.–UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Ken Batas became the first Ateneo Blue Eagle to win the UAAP men’s volleyball MVP since five-time winner Marck Espejo.
Despite missing the Final Four, Batas will be crowned the Season 87 men’s volleyball MVP before Game 2 between FEU and NU on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 87 volleyball Finals
Batas stood out in the division with 79.81 Statistical Points, surpassing De La Salle University’s Noel Kampton (74.906 SP) and the University of Santo Tomas troika of JJ Macam (74.681 SP), two-time MVP Josh Ybañez (74.255 SP), and Popoy Colinares (71.064 SP).
The 23-year-old Blue Eagle tallied the second-most points after the elimination round with 263 markers, while ranking fourth in spiking with a 44.79 percent success rate and fourth in aces with an average of 0.30 per set.
Batas placed fifth in reception with a 50.56 percent efficiency and eighth in digging with 1.35 per set.
Ateneo placed fifth with a 7-7 record, but Batas stood out as the top player of the season and also earned one of the two Best Outside Spiker trophies with 289 position points.
UST freshman Macam was crowned as the Rookie of the Year and nabbed the other Best Outside Spiker award with 259 ranking points as UST settled for bronze after falling short to the five-peat-seeking National University in the do-or-die Final Four.
READ: UAAP: Bella Belen now a three-time MVP winner
Macam was 15th in scoring with 146 points, finished as the sixth-most efficient spiker with a 42.75 percent success rate, and emerged as the second-best server with a 0.36 average.
UST has two more individual awardees in Colinares, emerging as the Best Middle Blocker with 227 points, and Dux Yambao winning the Best Setter with 180 points and a league-leading 5.85 excellent sets per frame.
Colinares finished second in blocks with a 0.70 average per set and 33 total, while also placing third in aces with 17 total and a 0.36 average per frame.
Another Blue Eagle was part of the mythical team with Amil Pacinio being named as Best Opposite Spiker with 224 points, while Adamson’s Mark Coguimbal won the other Best Middle Blocker plum with 182 points, leading in blocks by a wide margin with 46 total and a 0.87 average per set.
READ: UAAP: Ken Batas leads Ateneo rally past La Salle
Pacinio ranked fifth in scoring with 198 points and registered a league-best 22 aces on a 0.41 per-set average. He was also eighth in spiking with a 41.07 percent success rate.
La Salle’s Menard Guerrero won the Best Libero for the second straight year with 210 points and a 58.16 percent efficiency in receptions, while also placing fourth in digs with 2.32 per set.
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No one from top-seed Far Eastern University won an individual award as it tries to end a 13-year title drought and dethrone NU in Game 2
