Perpetual Altas' Prince Eze was officially crowned as the NCAA Season 94 Most Valuable Player before Game 2 of the finals Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
"I feel like my team made me a player. They found me and played to my strengths," said Eze about his achievement. "My teammates are the MVPs. They know how to make me look good. Even if I'm down, the team, the coaches, and the school lifted me up."
The Nigerian big man also led the MVP race last season but he failed to take home the award because his team did not reach the Final Four.
This time around, Eze was able to steer the Altas to the semifinals, allowing him to cap off his collegiate career with the highest individual plum on top of three other trophies. He also won the Defensive Player of the Year honors and earned spots in the Mythical Team and the All-Defense Team.
"Last season, I didn't make the playoffs and I was not happy, but I feel much better now," said Eze, who plans on finishing his marketing management course after this season.
The 6-foot-10 center unfortunately faced boos from the crowd during the awarding ceremony. Some of the fans chanted the name of Lyceum's CJ Perez, who was disqualified from any individual award because of a one-game suspension.
Even prior to the disqualification, however, Eze was still the runaway leader with Player All-Around Value (PAV) of 61.39 and per game averages of 17.9 points (49.8 percent shooting), 16.3 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks. Perez emerged second with PAV of 58.28.
"I wish CJ was here also," Eze said about Perez.
Completing the Mythical Five are Letran's Bong Quinto (48.83) and the San Beda trio of Robert Bolick (48.39), Javee Mocon (47.89), and Donald Tankoua (46.56).
Joining Eze in the All-Defense Team are Hamadou Laminou of EAC, Mike Nzeusseu of Lyceum, Michael Calisaan of San Sebastian, and Tankoua.
Letran's Larry Muyang was hailed Rookie of the Year, while Arellano's Archie Concepcion bagged the Most Improved Player citation.