Male Athletes of the Year: Diego Lozano and Boo Barandiaran

Offense may have led the DLSU Baseball Team to the UAAP Season 78 Baseball Championship, but thanks to the efforts of this season’s co-Finals MVPs, Boo Barandiaran and Diego Lozano, La Salle was able to stay a cut above the competition and clinch their fifth title since entering the league in 1986.

Having been with the Green Batters for over a year already, Barandiaran now focused his attention on keeping his opponents off the bases instead of worrying about the adjustment from high school level baseball to the college game. The Season 77 Rookie of the Year performed well on the mound, with his performance in the latter stages of Finals Game 2 effectively extinguishing the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ offense and clinching the title for La Salle.

Coming off a stellar career in La Salle Green Hills (LSGH), Lozano brought his winning ways to a team that was eager to unseat Ateneo from their three-year reign as baseball champions. What made the transition seamless was that a number of his teammates in DLSU played with him back in LSGH, with fellow teammate Barandiaran complementing him in the pitching rotation back then in high school and now during the UAAP regular season and finals.

Their dominance was on display throughout the season, as they both helped the Green Batters race to a 7-3 win-loss record, highlighted by a 14-7 win over Ateneo in the first round. Their three defeats came from NU and a 19-16 loss to ADMU that saw multiple rotation changes from both teams.

In the finals, Barandiaran and Lozano took turns in making the lives of Ateneo’s batters difficult. The duo, along with strong defense on the field, prevented the Blue Eagles from establishing their offense, with La Salle quickly adjusting with pitching changes once the ADMU batters figured out their way around either pitcher.

In Game 1, Barandiaran shut out the Blue Eagles in the first three innings, while Lozano earned seven strikeouts that allowed La Salle to take an 8-3 victory, moving DLSU to within a win from clinching their first title since 2003. Hoping to build off the momentum he earned in the previous game, Lozano continued his fine play through the first three innings of Game 2. However, a fourth inning that saw multiple Ateneo runs batted in forced DLSU head coach Joseph Orilliana to bring in Arvin Herrera, who was later replaced by Barandiaran after ADMU continued its rally. This time, it was Barandiaran’s turn to play the role of closer as he pulled off a stellar pitching performance that ended with a groundball out that gave the Green Batters an 11-9 walk-off victory and the title.

With only team captain Carlos Muñoz set to leave the team after this year, DLSU is primed for another run at the championship behind its young core led by Barandiaran and Lozano. Though they now have the targets on their backs, both pitchers will look to get better this offseason in order to take on the challenges that Season 79 may bring.

Honorable mentions: Greggy Yang (Men’s Football), Walden Ledesma (Men’s Table Tennis)