THE Philippines has enjoyed its lofty status as one of Asia’s best in women’s basketball. And thanks to the thriving collegiate scene, there will be no shortage of talents in the years to come.
Kacey Dela Rosa, Cielo Pagdulagan, Kent Pastrana, Elaine Etang and Louna Ozar are elevating the level of play in the UAAP, making themselves the true guardians of the women’s basketball program who could soon be the poster girls of Gilas in international competitions.
For their impressive contributions, the elite cagers will be feted as the Collegiate Women’s Basketball Mythical Team in the 2025 San Miguel Corporation-Collegiate Press Corps (SMC-CPC) Awards Night at the Discovery Suites Manila in Ortigas, Pasig City on Monday, June 30.
Bannering the “Fab Five” is Ateneo’sDela Rosa, who’s also this year’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Year awardee in the ceremony presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Pilipinas Live and GMA.
Fresh off winning back-to-back UAAP MVP plums, the 21-year-old Dela Rosa showcased her brilliance in 3×3 basketball where she anchored the Blue Eagles to a breakthrough title victory over Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws.
The 6-foot Dela Rosa stood out in the 5-on-5 tournament where she normed 22.1 points, 16.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.7 blocks per contest for the Blue Eagles to snare the best individual award of the league.
Pagdulagan, for her part, was nothing but impressive in her debut as she bagged the Rookie of Year plum after leading National University to a perfect 14-0 run in the elimsen route to a Season 87 finals victory in three games against champion University of Santo Tomas.
In that series, the 20-year-old hotshot averaged 15.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.67 assists, and 1.67 steals – enough to take home the Finals MVP trophy and help UAAP Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year ArisDimaunahan and the Lady Bulldogs reclaim the crown.
Meanwhile, Pastrana of Victorias City, Negros Occidental played a pivotal role for UST’s successful run that ended NU’s dominance in the division less than two years ago and gave the Tigresses their first diadem in 16 years.
The 24-year-old versatile guard was a UAAP Mythical Five member from 2023 to 2024 and was last year’s first-ever CPC’s best female cager before another Mythical Team citation in the third CPC awards also backed by World Balance, E-Sports International, Centaur Marketing, My Daily Collagen, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things and Go For Gold.
Etang, alongside CheskaApag and Victoria Adeshina, powered Adamson to a 9-5 win-loss record last year that landed them in their first podium finish since 2016 following a 59-53 escape over the Dela Rosa-led Ateneo.
Lastly, Ozar of University of the Philippines is a Filipino-French baller who averaged 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in the season—numbers that ultimately brought her inside the Season 87 Mythical Five and was actually third in MVP race with 67.571 Statistical Points behind Dela Rosa and Pastrana.
