REIGNING eight-time PBA MVP and star big man June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer is showing no signs of slowing down.
The 6-foot-10 center emerged as the pacesetter for the Best Player of the Conference race although the Beermen failed to advance to the finals of the season-opening Governors’ Cup.
Fajardo, 34, stayed as No. 1 in the BPC derby with 44.8 statistical points, built on impressive numbers of 21.0 points, a league-best 16.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 21 games from the eliminations up to the semifinals.
With a record 10 BPC plums in his massive cabinet of trophies, Fajardo is poised to bag the highest individual honor of the conference despite SMB falling to Ginebra 2-4 in their best-of-7 semis showdown.
Out to give the Pinamungajan, Cebu pride a run for his money are Arvin Tolentino of NorthPort, NLEX’s Robert Bolick, Fajardo teammate CJ Perez, and the Kings’ pair of Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson.
Tolentino remained at No. 2 with 37.5 SPS leading the league in scoring with 23.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists but the Batang Pier failed to make the playoffs.
Bolick occupies third with 35.9 SPs while showing the way in assists with an 8.2 average, aside from his usual prolific numbers of 19.1 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Perez is at No. 4 with 33.9 SPs (17.5 pts, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 steals), followed by Aguilar (18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists), and Thompson (13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.2 steals), who are tied at fifth spots with similar 32.2 SPs.
Reigning best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of TNT is ahead of Ginebra star reinforcement Justine Brownlee in the highly anticipated race for the best import of the conference.
Hollis-Jefferson, who bagged the same award last year when the Tropang Giga frustrated the Kings in six games in the finals, amassed 57.4 SPs behind numbers of 28.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, while leading both the steals and block shots fronts with 2.9 and 1.9, respectively.
Brownlee, a three-time winner of the plum, is second with 50.9 SPs on strengths of 28.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.5 block shots.
Hollis-Jefferson and Brownlee were expected to rekindle their rivalry as TNT and Ginebra kicked off their race-to-4 duel in the Big Dance last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
EJ Anosike of the Beermen (44.6 SPs) and Rain or Shine’s Aaron Fuller (41.8 SPs) complete the official list of candidates for the Best Import award.
The awarding of both the BPC and best import awards will be held before Game 4 of the titular battle on Nov. 6 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
