Antonio leads Boys Volleyball individual awardees

c/o UAAP

A University of the East Junior Warrior has once again claimed the Most Valuable Player honor in the UAAP High School Boys’ Volleyball Tournament.

Christian Antonio was named the MVP for UAAP Season 87 after an exceptional Grade 12 campaign, leading UE to a bronze-medal finish.

The 18-year-old outside hitter from Pasig City dominated the league as its top scorer, racking up 180 points with a league-high 49% attacking efficiency and a ninth-best 0.30 aces per set. Standing at 6 feet tall, Antonio also showcased his versatility as the tournament’s fifth-best receiver with a 31.39% efficiency.

"'Di ko rin po expect 'to, ginawa ko lang din po 'yung best ko sa team po. 'Di ko rin po ine-expect itong award na 'to pero napasahan po ako nito," said Antonio after receiving the accolade.

Antonio becomes the seventh MVP in UE’s history, following in the footsteps of Michael Reyes (Season 71), Morrissey Garcia (Season 72), Kim Relcopan (Season 73), Edward Camposano (Seasons 74-76), Ron Medalla (Season 77), and Shaun Ledesma (Season 78).

Joining Antonio on the All-UAAP Team are National University-Nazareth School’s Miguel Egger and UE’s Clarence Gianan as the Best Middle Blockers; Far Eastern University-Diliman’s Zedrick Calimlim and Kenneth Maliwanag as Best Outside Spiker and Best Opposite Spiker, respectively; Adamson University’s Jhon Guevarra as Best Libero; and NUNS’s Kalel Ronquillo as Best Setter.

Egger, who clinched his third consecutive Best Middle Blocker award, delivered a second-best 0.54 blocks per set and finished seventh in scoring with 138 points. Gianan led the league in blocking with 0.58 blocks per set and contributed 111 points to rank as the 15th best scorer.

Calimlim shone as the second-best scorer in the tournament, amassing 177 points and topping the service ace leaderboard with 0.56 aces per set. Maliwanag, who also earned Rookie of the Year honors, ranked third in scoring with 175 points and placed sixth in blocking with 0.4 blocks per set.

Guevarra emerged as the league’s top receiver in the elimination round with an impressive 51.46% efficiency rate, while Ronquillo distributed a second-best 3.39 excellent sets per set and ranked eighth in serving with 0.33 aces per set.