A LOT has been said about how vastly improved Ginebra star Scottie Thompson is when he was named MVP last season, or how sensational sophomore gunner Mikey Williams is for defending champion TNT.
Some armchair pundits would even throw the names of SMB wingman CJ Perez and the Kings’ Japeth Aguilar in the conversation.
But let’s not forget prized SMB center June Mar Fajardo, who proved he still has what it takes last night.
Now fully healed and back to his old, deadly form after a complete fracture on his right tibia suffered in practice sidelined him in 2020 and slowed him down last year, Fajardo is back on top, bagging the PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference.
The award — won via runaway fashion — and his ninth overall was given to the 6-foot-10 Fajardo before Game 4 of the season-opening tourney’s best-of-7 finals showdown pitting the Beermen and the Tropang Giga at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo, the pro league’s MVP from 2014 to 2019 before Thompson took the coveted plum, tallied a total of 1,119 points built on 501 points on statistics, 537 media votes, and 81 players votes.
Perez was a distant second with 776 points from 474 statistics points, 257 media votes, and 45 players votes. The former Rookie of the Year and two-time scoring champion was good for 18.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.4 apg, and 2.6 stpg.
Fajardo, 32, averaged 18.6 points, a league-best 13.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks from the eliminations until the semifinals in only his third conference back.
He also won his first BPC award since the 2019 all-Filipino meet.
Williams missed TNT’s first five games of the import-less tilt due to contract negotiations, but a late surge enabled last season’s Rookie of the Year to finish third in the conference best player race with 610 points.
He got 419 from statistics, 110 media votes, and tied Fajardo with 81 nods from fellow cagers.
Thompson wound up No. 4 with 468 points on the strength of 456 points from stats, five media votes, and seven players votes.
Aguilar rounded up the top five with 400 markers from statistics, zero media votes, and 15 players votes to finish with 415 points.