MANILA, Philippines -- The UAAP, led by Season 72 host Far Eastern University (FEU), honored the year’s top athletes in a colorful closing ceremony at the FEU Auditorium Thursday night.

University of Santo Tomas (UST) taekwondo jin Marlon Avenido, who earlier bagged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Men’s Taekwondo, won Athlete of the Year for his successful stints in international competitions.

“It feels good to win Athlete of the Year because every UAAP player dreams of getting this award,” Avenido told UAAPSports.com. “It is definitely one of my most prized achievements as an athlete.”

Avenido earned the silver medals in the 25th Southeast Asian Games in Laos last December and in the Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand last August.

He was also part of the Philippine contingent that saw action in the World Taekwondo Championships in Denmark, the Southeast Asian Taekwondo Championship in Vietnam, and the KTA Open Taekwondo Championship in South Korea.

His international exposure proved to be his edge against other Athlete of the Year contenders like his schoolmates, basketball player Dylan Ababou, and track-and-field athlete Serenata Saluan; De La Salle University's ace swimmer and actor Enchong Dee; and, FEU woodpusher Shaider Nebato.

Making it sweeter for UST was the selection of 3-time boy’s swimming MVP Gian Berino as Junior’s Athlete of the Year. In his acceptance speech, Berino thanked UST, his parents, and his grandmother. He said his grandmother served as his “yaya, coach, and disciplinarian” when she was still alive.

“I am no Michael Phelps of the Olympics,” Berino said. “But I am Gian Berino of the UAAP, and I want to share this award to everyone.”

Golden harvest

Aside from going home with its 37th UAAP General Championship and 12th straight in the Seniors Division and its 12th General Championship in the Juniors Division, UST also had the most number of MVPs in its roster with 12 players getting the top individual plum. FEU has eight MVPs, while the University of the East (UE) has six.

“As far as the General Championships are concerned, we (UST) are doing well,” said UAAP Board member Fr. Ermito de Sagon, O.P. of UST. “But it is really the athletes who deserve the recognition.”

Each member-school also recognized its Scholar-Athletes or the graduating players with superior academic performances. Receiving the awards were Ateneo de Manila’s Jhonel Ryan Faelnar, Adamson University’s Ferdinand Reyes, DLSU’s Iachina Hernandez, FEU’s Jenny Rose Palomo, National University’s Ivee Virrey, UE’s Annaliza Catacutan, University of the Philippines' (UP) Carmina Barcelon, and UST’s Jecille Anne Ortelano.

The league also cited the athletes who competed in international sporting meets. UST has the most number of players who saw action abroad with 26, followed by UP with 21, and FEU with 15.

Innovations in Season 72

Despite UST’s dominance in the league, Season 72 President Anton Montinola of FEU recognized that all schools stepped up their campaigns this season.   

“New schools have emerged champions,” Montinola said in his speech. “We can see that all schools are improving their sports programs.”

He also highlighted some of FEU’s most important contributions to the league as this year’s host, including having the La Salle and Ateneo men’s basketball squads play only after making sure that the fans and the teams of the preceding match had already left the venue.  

“We have introduced an innovation which has put a dent in the problem of scalping,” Montinola said. “We hope the future hosts will continue this (innovation).”

Tough act to follow

Montinola then passed on the UAAP presidency to La Salle’s UAAP board representative, Bro. Bernie Oca, who will carry next year’s hosting duties.

“It (FEU’s hosting) is a tough act to follow,” Oca admitted. “We will just ask the previous hosts for tips and learn from their experiences.”

Despite La Salle’s second-place finish this year, Oca remained modest about his school’s chances next season.

“We will still be (in) 2nd (place),” Oca said. “UST is just hard to beat, but we will try to close the gap.”

Just last year, the UAAP and ABS-CBN signed a 5-year contract which reinforced the partnership between the country’s most popular collegiate league and the broadcasting network. -- by Ivan de lara

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