PBA: June Mar Fajardo faces stiff competition in BPC race

By Jonas Terrado

June Mar Fajardo’s bid for an unprecedented ninth Best Player of the Conference award faces stiff competition from CJ Perez and Kiefer Ravena despite topping the Statistical Points race at the end of the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations.

The San Miguel Beer star compiled 38.4 SPs to emerge as the early leader of the BPC derby with the Columbian rookie in second at 37.2 and the NLEX sophomore in third at 36.1.

Rounding out the top five are TNT KaTropa’s Roger Pogoy with 35.3 SPs and Meralco center Raymond Almazan at 33.8.

Fajardo’s chances of claiming another Best Player award are likely to hinge on whether the Beermen can get past Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in their quarterfinal duel which starts Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

SMB needs to beat Ginebra twice in order to reach the semis and stay in the hunt for a coveted Grand Slam.

Getting another BPC plum will virtually secure a record-extending sixth Most Valuable Player trophy for the 6-foot-10 gentle giant.

Also facing possible problems is Perez, whose team failed to reach the quarterfinals after placing ninth with a 4-7 record.

No player has ever won a BPC without making the semifinals. Forty percent of the stats will be used to determine the winner while the rest are votes from the media (30%), players (25%) and the PBA Commissioner’s Office (5%).

Ravena, Pogoy and Almazan may end up as the likely candidates voters will pick on if their teams reach the semis.

NLEX, TNT and Meralco are armed with the twice-to-beat bonus against their quarterfinal opponents.

Making the top 10 are TNT’s Jayson Castro (32.0), Meralco’s Chris Newsome (30.9), TNT’s Troy Rosario (29.3), NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger (29.11) and Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang (29.09).

Source: Manila Bulletin