Mapua’s Clint Escamis and National University’s Bella Belen banner the Player of the Year winners 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 for Mapua to end the title drought as they persevered and willed to defy great odds and once again reach the pinnacle of success in the grand old league.
In the middle of it all was Finals MVP Escamis, who without the doubt carried his team on his broad shoulders to emerge as this year’s NCAA Collegiate Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Belen, for her part, is bestowed the Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year after helping the Lady Bulldogs win back-to-back UAAP titles and third overall in four seasons laced by three Season MVP citations as well.
Escamis and Belen are only two among the 10 Player of the Year winners 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.
Also emerging big winners are Ateneo’s Kacey Dela Rosa (UAAP women’s basketball), NU’s Leo Aringo (UAAP men’s volleyball), Arellano’s Carl Berdal (NCAA men’s volleyball), and CSB’s Zam Nolasco (NCAA women’s volleyball).
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.
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.
