MANILA, Philippines – When the 2018 PBA Draft Combine wrapped up at the Gatorade Hoops Center on Thursday night, the award for Most Valuable Player honors went not to any of the presumptive top picks, or the D-League standouts.

Instead, it was JP Calvo, the unassuming point guard from Colegio de San Juan de Letran, who walked away with the MVP award after leading Team A-2 to the championship in the mini-tournament.

Calvo, who ended his NCAA career by helping the Knights make the Final 4 in Season 94, scored 11 points in the first quarter alone to set the tone for Team A-2's 76-64 triumph over Team A-3 in the finals. He finished with a team-high 23 points.

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For his efforts, Calvo received an additional prize of P10,000, on top of the P75,000 that they got as a team.

"Actually, hindi ko expect 'yun eh. Siguro 'yun nga, binigay talaga sa akin ni Lord ito," said Calvo.

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Calvo has been working hard and preparing for the draft ever since his collegiate career wrapped up with a loss to Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA semifinals. It had been a tearful ending for Calvo, who suffered an injury in the third quarter of the game and could only watch as his Knights were blown out by the Pirates, 109-85.

Yet the huge loss could not take the shine off Calvo's final campaign in the NCAA, wherein he averaged 14.1 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game while establishing himself as the stabilizing factor of the Knights.

He now hopes that his performance in the Draft Combine was enough to catch the attention of the coaches who had keenly observed the two-day process.

"Siyempre sobrang importante para sa akin, kasi nga maliit ako eh. So kailangan ko magpakita, dahil ayun nga, maliit ako, so ginawa ko lang kung ano ang advantage ko para ma-ano ko yung iba kong kalaban," he said.

Calvo revealed that he already tried out for NorthPort and Phoenix.

"Hindi naman ako nag-expect na kukunin nila ako," he said. "At least, pumunta ako para i-try kung kaya ko ba o hindi."

With his strong showing in the Draft Combine, Calvo has now proven to himself that he can keep up with his fellow rookie hopefuls – thus lifting his confidence heading into Sunday's draft ceremony.

"Siyempre malaking bagay ito dahil ayun nga, sa Sunday drafting na din. So baka, baka sakaling madala ko sa PBA itong confidence na ito, kasi kaya ko naman pala," he said.

Calvo added that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter to him when he gets picked, for as long as he hears his name called out on draft day.

"Yung iniisip ko lang kung saan ako mapupunta at makapirma. 'Yun lang, 'di ko iniisip na ganyan, No. 1, No. 2. Ang importante lang ma-pick ako, okay na sa akin," said the point guard.

Joining Calvo in the Mythical 5 of the Draft Combine tournament were fellow NCAA stalwarts Javee Mocon and Robert Bolick of San Beda University, San Sebastian College's Michael Calisaan, and Mapua University's CJ Isit.

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