Fil-Am Ethan Alvano cops historic KBL MVP award

Filipino-American ace Ethan Alvano made history after being named the Most Valuable Player during the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball League (KBL) awards ceremony on Monday night.

The 6-foot sophomore Alvano, who currently reinforces Wonju DB Promy, became the first Asian import and non-Korean player to achieve the feat after leading the Korean club to the top seed with a 41-13 win-loss card.

The 27-year-old Alvano is Wonju’s second leading scorer behind Dedric Lawson after the former Alab Pilipinas playmaker posted 15.9 points, 6.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 54 games, helping the squad book an outright semifinals berth.

“[I’m] truly humbled, truly honored. Like I said before, I give all the glory to God and my teammates, my coaches, everyone in DB, and especially the fans, my wife, and my kid. I’m just truly honored, thank you so much,” Alvano said during the acceptance speech.

Alvano is one of the many Filipino imports seeing action in KBL alongside Rhenz Abando, SJ Belangel, Migs Oczon, Dave Ildefonso, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Justin Gutang, and Alex Cabagnot.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News