RAIN OR SHINE’S Jireh Ibañes (left) tries to drive past the defense of San Mig Coffee’s James Yap. The two teams were playing Game 3 of the Philippine Cup finals at press time. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines — June Mar Fajardo is looming as the prohibitive favorite to romp off with his first Player of the Conference award of the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup set to be handed out before tip-off of Game 4 Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With no members of finalists Rain or Shine and San Mig Coffee making it to the top five to earn candidacy for the prestigious honor, the 6-foot-9 Petron Blaze cornerstone seems set to win it all over teammate Arwind Santos.
Fajardo finished with an average of 38.8 statistical points—the best in the lot—after garnering averages of 16.4 points, 14.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 18 total games.
The Boosters, who will be known as the San Miguel Beermen starting the Commissioner’s Cup next month, were eliminated in the Final Four by the Elasto Painters.
Japeth Aguilar, half of Barangay Ginebra’s twin towers, was third in the statistical points race after a dip in performance in the playoffs, as Santos, the reigning MVP, dislodged him in second spot.
Jay Washington of Globalport and the Gin Kings’ Greg Slaughter, the first overall choice in the last Draft, round out the pool of candidates.
Meanwhile, Barako Bull, which traded away hardworking former Rookie of the Year Rico Maierhofer on Tuesday, has signed up a wide-bodied import in former NBA D-League campaigner Devon Dwayne Chism for the coming Commissioner’s Cup.
The Energy, who got a shooter in Jason Deutchman in exchange for the inside-playing Maierhofer, welcomed Chism last Monday and coaching staff has been impressed at what it has so far seen. Slaughter maintained a comfortable lead in the Rookie of the Year race, with his average of 33.6 SPs more than 11 points ahead of the second running Terrence Romeo of Globalport.
Slaughter wound up with averages of 15.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 23 games for the Gin Kings, who also failed to make the Finals after bowing to the Mixers, 110-87, in Game 7 of their semifinal series last week.
Aguilar and Slaughter would have had better chances of winning the award had the Kings made the title series opposite the Elasto Painters, but that Game 7 loss doomed their chances.
The 6-foot-9 Aguilar still wound up with averages of 17.1 points, nine rebounds and 2.8 swats in 23 games for the Kings.