FORMER Southwestern University forward Ben Mbala was named as the UAAP’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.
However, that barely registered with the 6-foot-8 big man from Cameroon as he shared that his focus is trained exclusively on keeping the UAAP men’s basketball crown in Taft.
“It feels nice but that’s not my main objective. My eyes are on the championship,” he said.
Asked if he was gearing up to win MVP yet again this season, Mbala proved his sentiments were no lip service as he expressed his conviction to capturing a second straight championship for La Salle.
“The MVP? Not really. It was and has always been the championship,” said Mbala regarding his goals for UAAP’s 80th season.
Even as he missed La Salle’s first two games due to his commitment to the Cameroonian national team, Mbala was still named MVP in runaway fashion as he amassed a total of 96.5833 statistical points, beating Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena by a wide margin.
For the season, the 6-foot-8 recruit from Southwestern University in Cebu averaged 26 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.5 blocked shots for a La Salle squad that finished with a 12-2 (win-loss) record in the elimination round.