College 'Players of the Year' get share of spotlight at CPC Awards | Philstar.com
From left: Bella Belen (NU), Leo Aringo (NU), Clint Escamis (Mapua), Kacey Dela Rosa (Ateneo), Carl Berdal (Arellano) Zam Nolasco (Benilde).
UAAP Media Group and NCAA Philippines / GMA Sports
MANILA, Philippines — Clint Escamis is basketball’s best with Bella Belen reigning as volleyball’s finest as the two stars headline the prestigious Players of the Year plums in the 2025 San Miguel Corporation-Collegiate Press Corps Awards Night on Monday, June 30, at the Discovery Suites Manila in Ortigas, Pasig.
It took 33 years, but the Mapua Cardinals are back on top of the NCAA men’s basketball world. And in the middle of it all was Finals Most Valuable Player Escamis, who also ended up as year’s Collegiate Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Belen, for her part, is named the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year after towing the National University Lady Bulldogs to back-to-back titles and third overall in four seasons laced by three Season MVP citations as well.
Escamis and Belen are only two among the 10 Players of the Year across three different sports, including football for the first time ever in the third staging of the CPC Awards presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pilipinas Live and GMA.
Escamis, the NCAA Rookie-MVP in Season 99, finally brought Mapua to the Promised Land after sweeping the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 2-0, to win the historic Season 100 behind averages of 24.5 points, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals.
“Sobrang sarap talaga kasi knowing na nakuha ko yung MVP last year, pero talo kami, sobrang sakit kasi somehow medyo ako lang yung masaya e. Pero this year, okay lang kahit wala akong individual awards, I set that aside, gusto ko muna team first muna talaga,” said Escamis as Mapua avenged its NCAA Season 99 finals loss to San Beda.
Serving as his counterpart is two-time UAAP MVP Kacey Dela Rosa, this year’s Collegiate Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in the awards also backed by Discovery Suites, World Balance, E-Sports International, Centaur Marketing, My Daily Collagen, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Go For Gold.
Dela Rosa led the league in runaway fashion with 22.1 points, 16.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.7 blocks per game in UAAP Season 87. She posted double-doubles in all 15 games she played in albeit the Blue Eagles settled only for a Final Four finish.
And of course, it is not just in the hardwood that heroes exist. The taraflex is also home to champions with Alas Pilipinas standout Belen leading the way.
Building a case as one of greatest volleyball players in the country, Belen exited the UAAP with an unrivaled resume marked by eight championships and five MVPs overall since high school.
Leo Aringo, Belen’s counterpart in NU, is also in league of his own with the UAAP Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year citation after anchoring the Bulldogs to a five-peat championship against top-seed Far Eastern U and winning the Finals MVP award as his grand swan song.
Belen since then rose as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Draft while Aringo took his talents to Japan to fly the flag high.
Over at the NCAA, Finals MVP Carl Berdal led the Arellano Chiefs to their first-ever volleyball championship with a 2-0 sweep of the Letran Knights behind his 17.5 points to be hailed as the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year.
Then there’s the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year Zam Nolasco, also the league’s Best Middle Blocker who powered the Lady Blazers to a four-peat feat after a similar 2-0 sweep of the Letran Lady Knights in the finals.
They are the season’s best for their respective schools and leagues. And now, they are the finest in the entire collegiate sports, too.
