Ateneo’s Al-Hussaini named MVP

By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - September 24, 2008

Blue Eagle Ryan Buenafe is Rookie of the Year

As if winning the first game of their title series were not enough, the Ateneo Blue Eagles got an added boost yesterday when its mercurial center Rabeh Al-Hussaini was named the UAAP basketball tournament’s Most Valuable Player and his teammate, forward Ryan Buenafe, the Rookie of the Year.

The double whammy for Ateneo came two days before the Eagles play the La Salle Green Archers Thursday where they need just one more win to complete a two-game sweep of the best-of-three championship series.

Hussaini was a popular choice though the 6-6 center of half-Kuwaiti blood had to overcome the tournament-long brilliance of University of Santo Tomas’ Jervy Cruz who probably missed out on a second straight MVP after the Growling Tigers failed to make it to the Final Four.

The personal award will mean nothing for the 20-year-old Hussaini, however, if he fails to lead the Blue Eagles to the Everest of college basketball.

As of now, the Eagles’ title quest largely depends on his all-around ability and he showed ample evidence of that quality when he led Ateneo to a 69-61 victory in the first game last Sunday during which he scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

But the MVP is a reward for season-long consistency where Hussaini made several 30-point plus performances giving him averages of 18 points and 9.6 rebounds in the two-round robin eliminations which Ateneo fittingly topped.

Figures from the UAAP showed that he finished only second to Cruz in the statistical points but made up for the deficit in other departments.

Aside from statistics which is equivalent to 50 percent of the total tally, the media (20 percent), players and coaches (15) and game officials (15) are the other basis for selecting the MVP.

Al-Hussaini said earlier that winning the MVP plum is only a bonus since he’s more after the team championship.

Al-Hussaini is the third player from Ateneo to win the MVP in recent years. The others were Rich Alvarez (2001) and Enrico Villanueva (2002).

He highlighted his breakout year by scoring 33 points in a 66-72 defeat to Far Eastern Univerity in the first round. Al-Hussaini raised his game several notches in the second round that saw the Eagles finish the eliminations on top with a 13-1 record.

Buenafe made it a double celebration for Ateneo with the rookie of the year award.

It was a hands down choice for the 18-year-old former San Sebastian high school standout who also won MVP honors in his final year in the NCAA last year.

Buenafe had a rousing game last Sunday where he scored 12 points, snared 11 rebounds and handed five assists to validate his selection.

The 6-1 Buenafe became the anchor of the team’s offense and it resulted in several easy baskets for Al-Hussaini.

He also received a well-deserved compliment from his coach Norman Black.

"Well he’s a rookie but doesn’t play like a rookie," Black said. "He shows a lot of maturity, that is why he’s on the court a lot; he’s a high percentage player."

After winning the rookie of the year award, Buenafe, a cousin of current Coca-Cola Tiger Ronjay Buenafe, said the award would mean nothing unless his team wins the real prize.

"Bonus na lang sa akin yan kasi di naman namin iniisip yun. Ang target talaga naming ay mag-champion," he said.