GM John Paul Gomez wins UAAP Athlete of the Year plum

MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster John Paul Gomez of La Salle was adjudged as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Athlete of the Year for Season 71 during Thursday’s awards night at the Bahay ng Alumni in the University of the Philippines campus. The 22-year-old Gomez won the coveted award by virtue of his fifth Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum this season. It was a fitting end to the storied collegiate career of Gomez, who booked a place in the annals of RP chess last year when he became the Philippines’ 10th GM, following the footsteps of Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio, Bong Villamayor, the late Rosendo Balinas, Nelson Mariano, Mark Paragua, Darwin Laylo, Wesley So, and Jayson Gonzales. He also represented the country in the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany last year. Aside from the Athlete of the Year award, Gomez was also accorded a Presidential Award for Sports by La Salle, a youth award from his hometown province of Laguna and a citation by the Philippine Sportswriters Association recently. “Among the awards I won, this is very special to me. I won this award in my last year," Gomez, a mechanical engineering student, said. In the juniors division, Alyssa Valdez of University of Santo Tomas captured the Athlete of the Year plum. Valdez received the MVP plum in girls’ volleyball and led the country to an eighth place finish in the 2008 Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Championship held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City. UST also accepted its 36th seniors overall championship and 11th juniors overall crown during the ceremony. –GMANews.TV