MANILA -- American behemoth Sudan Daniel proved anew that he is a force to reckon in the 86th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball after bagging the tournament's best player of the week.
With San Beda raring to sweep the first round eliminations, Daniel came big again for the Red Lions as he dished out 14 points and 19 rebounds against the squad that snapped their four-peat title bid last year-the San Sebastian Stags, 88-76.
The Red Lions currently enjoys the top view of the nine-member tournament with an immaculate 8-0 (win-loss) card.
It was a good riddance for San Beda and for Daniel as well who struggled against the likes of Gilbert Bulawan and fellow Most Valuable Player contender Calvin "The Beast" Abueva during Wednesday's jam-packed game at the Arena in San Juan.
But Daniel was able to overcome the threats and overpower the San Sebastian frontline with a number of inside plays on both ends of the floor to score the win and earned his second ACCEL/Filoil NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week award presented by Gatorade and Terrilicious meat products.
Coach Frankie Lim had nothing to say but praises for the second-year standout out of Los Angeles, California, nicknamed "Superman."
"He was again a monster," said Lim.
Last year, Daniel was a non-factor in the finals as San Sebastian ended San Beda's three-year title reign with a stunning two-game sweep.
"Su was outplayed in last year's finals. San Sebastian overpowered him convincingly," Lim said. "But in this game, he learned his mistakes and showed that he can play man-for-man against them."
Daniel won the weekly honor over Jose Rizal University's Nate Matute, Arellano's Ronnel del Rosario and San Beda's Jake Pascual.
In his first player of the week award last August 1, Daniel was recognized for dismantling the undermanned Perpetual Help in July 28 by scoring 16 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked 10 shots. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)