At age 36, San Miguel Beer star center June Mar Fajardo remains a dominant force in the pro league as he leads the PBA Season 50 Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after the first two conferences.
Still the Beermen’s most unstoppable inside player, the 6-foot-10 player from Pinamungahan, Cebu garnered a combined 29.8 statistical points from his performances in the Philippine Cup (40 percent) and Commissioner’s Cup (30 percent), thus putting him on course to extend his PBA record to 10 MVP awards.
Fajardo, a mainstay of the Philippine men’s basketball team, posted solid per-game averages of 17.0 points, 3.3 assists and a league leading 16.1 rebounds in 37 games in the ongoing season.
The former University of Cebu standout stood at the forefront of the Beermen’s Philippine Cup championship, while stretching his PBA record to 13 Best Player of the Conference (BPC) awards along the way.
NLEX guard Robert Bolick lurks behind Fajardo in the MVP stats race with 26.7 SPs. He averages an all-around effort of 19.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and a season best 8.3 assists per outing.
The do-it-all combo guard out of San Beda actually led the statistical points in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup with 38.9 SPs, but with the Road Warriors taking a swift playoff exit after putting to waste a twice-to-beat incentive, the BPC award eluded him once again.
Converge’s super rookie Juan Gomez De Liano is running third with 23.6 SPs.
The former University of the Philippines star churned out excellent per-game stats line of 17.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.0 steals to lead the Rookie of the Year award.
Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero is fourth with 23.3 SPs, thanks to his averages of 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and a season-best 2.0 block shots per game.
Sophomore slot man Justine Baltazar rounds up the top 5 list with 23.2 SPs behind his double-double averages of 13.5 points and 11.9 rebounds, while issuing 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Figuring at sixth and seventh spots are Barangay Ginebra teammates RJ Abarrientos, the Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference, with 22.8 SPs (18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals) and Scottie Thompson with 22.61 SPs (13.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals).
Completing the top 10 cast are San Miguel Beer’s CJ Perez (22.57 SPs), Titan Ultra’s Joshua Munzon (22.3 SPs) and Converge’s Justin Arana (21.2 SPs). RICHARD DY
