Best Player of the Conference not from 2 finalists

Ideally, the PBA’s Best Player of the Conference (BPC) should come from one of the two teams that made it all the way to the championship series.

However, in the ongoing PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup, the BPC won’t be coming from either San Mig Coffee or Rain or Shine, the two teams slugging it out in the best-of-seven Finals.

No matter how well they’re playing in the series, San Mig Coffee’s two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap and teammates PJ Simon, Marc Pingris and Mark Barroca will not be the BPC of the Philippine Cup.

Neither will Elasto Painters’ Paul Lee, Beau Belga and Jeff Chan. That’s because these guys did not collect enough statistical points to make it to the Top 5.

Only the top five players are qualified for the BPC plum. The BPC will be announced during halftime of Game 4 of the Finals.

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June Mar Fajardo of the Petron Blaze Boosters ranked first with an average of 38.8 statistical points per game, while his teammate Arwind Santos, the conference MVP last season, placed second with an average of 35.8 SPs.

Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar ranked third with 35.2 SPs, Globalport’s Jay Washington came next with 34.5 followed by Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter with 33.6. Initial reports have it that the battle for the BPC will be between the top two candidates, meaning Fajardo and Santos.

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Curiously, not a single E-Painter is in the Top 20 of the BPC roster. Basketball experts say this only indicates that Rain or Shine really plays as a team.

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Among the Coffee Mixers, only Peter June Simon (25.8 SPs), Marc Pingris (27.6) and Mark Barroca (29.0), who is in eighth place, made it to the Top 20. Santos is gunning for his third BPC while Washington is looking for his second.

In addition to statistical points, the BPC awardee will be determined through votes from the media, players and the office of the league commissioner.