Aljamal is NCAA player of the week

Yousif Aljamal is one reason defending champion San Beda College is still unbeaten in four games in the ongoing 83rd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball season. Aljamal showed his consistency when he fired 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter that helped the Red Lions hammer out an 87-65 win over the St. Benilde Blazers. That was the Red Lions fourth straight win. That effort earned the 2006 Finals MVP the NCAA Press Corps ANTA Player of the Week award, according to the media group Saturday. Aljamal edged Letran's Dino Daa, San Sebastian's Jayson Ballesteros and Jim Viray and teammates Sam Ekwe and Rogemar Menor - the season's first ANTA Player of the Week - for the plum given by a group of sportswriters from the country's leading broadsheets and tabloids covering the league. Daa could have won it after posting a season-high 25 rebounds, eclipsing 2006 rookie MVP Ekwe's 22, in a 68-52 thrashing of Perpetual Help. Or it could have easily been the 6'6" Ballesteros, still the league's leading shotblocker with four swats he spiked with 13 boards and nine points in a 66-63 triumph over Mapua. But more than statistics, Aljamal exudes leadership. "He is one of the many reasons why we are on top right now, he's really a true leader in the team," said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. - GMANews.TV