By Jonas Terrado – mb.com.ph
Grandmaster John Paul Gomez has been named UAAP athlete of the year, adding one more to his long list of achievements.
The multi-titled De La Salle student was honored as the league’s top athlete during yesterday’s Awards Night held at the Bahay ng Alumni inside the University of the Philippines campus.
Gomez won the award by edging out fellow Lasallian PJ Tierro of tennis, trackster Ben Alejandrino of University of Santo Tomas, swimmer Luica Dacanay of UP and Ateneo cager Rabeh Al-Hussaini.
During the season, Gomez was the lone bright spot for the Green Archers’ solid fourth-place finish as he bagged his fifth straight Most Valuable Player for winning all five matches in Board 1.
But the 22-year-old native of Biñan, Laguna made a bigger name for himself last November when he clinched the GM norm during the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. The feat also earned Gomez a citation during last month’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night.
University of Santo Tomas volleyball player Alyssa Valdez shared the limelight when she was named Athlete of the Year in the juniors’ division.
The 16-year-old received the MVP plum for leading the Tigers Cubs to back-to-back girls’ volleyball championships.
She represented the RP team that finished eighth during the 7th Asian Youth Girls’ Volleyball tournament that the country hosted last October.
The night also saw UST receiving two trophies for winning the general championship in both divisions. The Espana-based campus won its 36th overall seniors title and 11th overall juniors diadem.
Photo courtesy of forzalasalle.multiply.com
