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| Dwight Ramos believes Carl Tamayo deserved to win the KBL Finals MVP more than Heo Il-Young. Changwon LG Sakers (file photo) |
QUEZON CITY--It has been a week already since Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers survived a potentially epic scare from the Seoul SK Knights to win the KBL championship.
Still, the talk remains as to whom should be named the Finals MVP.
Following a three-point explosion in Game 7, Heo Il-Young was named the Finals MVP, but it drew mixed reactions, especially from the Filipino fans who thought Tamayo, who was nearly steady the entire series or at least in the four games Changwon prevailed, should have got the honor instead.
Add Gilas Pilipinas teammate Dwight Ramos to the list.
The Levanga Hokkaido star believes Tamayo did enough to be named Finals MVP over the likes of Heo and Assem Marei.
"He should have got the Finals MVP," Ramos said after attending the viewing party for Game 1 of the Japan B.League Finals between Utsunomiya and Ryukyu on Saturday at the Gateway 2 Quantum Skyview.
Tamayo led the Sakers in scoring with 15.6 points per game and was second to Marei in rebounding at 7.6 boards per game along with 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the championship series.
However, after showing superstar numbers in the first three games, all ending up as wins for them, Tamayo struggled in the last four games during the Knights' comeback from 0-3 down to nearly pull off only the second reverse sweep in a best-of-seven series ever in professional basketball.
Tamayo somehow got a double-double in the deciding game with 12 points and 10 rebounds including some key baskets that helped Changwon hold off Seoul SK.
However, the top individual award for the titular showdown still went to Heo, who led everyone in three-point shooting all series long at 38.2 percent capped by a 4-for-5 clip in Game 7 that helped the Sakers build a 10-point lead that the Knights struggled to overcome down the stretch.
Despite missing out on the Finals MVP honors, Ramos is still happy that Tamayo achieved another championship in his career.
Tamayo, who already won one professional championship with the Golden Kings in 2023, became the first Filipino player to win a title in both the B.League and KBL.
"It's big time for him. He has one championship already in the B.League and one in Korea, so I was happy for him," Ramos further said.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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