INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - A three-player race looms for the Philippine Basketball League Rookie of the Year honor, which will be handed out during the finals of the PG Flex Unity Cup starting Tuesday at the San Juan Gym.

Chris Ross of Pharex, Paul Lee of Cobra Energy Drink and Mark Barroca of Oracle Residences emerged as frontrunners for the plum after posting impressive numbers in their league debut.

Ross? season has been short of spectacular and his performance is one of the reasons why Pharex has made the finals for the first time since joining the league.

And Pharex coach Carlo Tan could not help but marvel at the way Ross has boosted the stock of his team.

?He?s a warrior,? Tan said of the 6-foot-1 Ross, the runaway leader in assists (8.1) and steals (2) aside from scoring 13 points and pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game.

Ross highlighted his season with two triple-doubles, the last coming in the Bidang Generix?s series-altering Game 3 victory over Licealiz in the semifinals.

Lee, the Best Player of the Conference awardee in the season-opening tournament, has emerged as one of the most explosive players in the league while lifting Bacchus and Cobra Energy Drink to the semifinals twice this season.

Lee led the team in scoring 14.5 points per outing in the conference, while finishing second in the league in assists with 4.6.

Oracle Residences found difficulty neutralizing Lee in the semifinals as the University of the East guard averaged 29.5 points in Games 4 and 5.

Barroca, the finals MVP in the previous conference when Harbour Centre grabbed a sixth consecutive crown, played only four games for Oracle this conference due to his commitment with the national team.

But his impact has been immense, especially in the 97-77 triumph over Cobra last Saturday.

"He has really improved his game,? said Oracle team manager Erick Arejola.