June Mar has inside track to player plum

SAN MIGUEL Beer cornerstone June Mar Fajardo is expected to run away with a second Best Player of the Conference award this season when the PBA honors its best and brightest individual performers for the Governors’ Cup.

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo averaged 17.8 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in leading all San Miguel locals in those departments.

Altogether, these equate to a 36.2 statistical points (SPs) average per game after the Final Four of the season-closing conference on Wednesday night.

That is more than three SPs ahead of Globalport gunslinger Terrence Romeo, who averaged 32.9 after leading all locals in scoring with 22.2 points a night in 13 games overall.

Top five players only

Only the top five players in the statistical points race qualify as BPC candidates and from that list, only Fajardo and the fourth-running Marcio Lassiter, also of San Miguel, are still playing.

Lassiter averaged 28.3 and trailed third-ranked Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra (30.6). He was just ahead of NLEX big man Asi Taulava (28.0).

The voting among fellow players, the PBA and the covering media will determine the winner.
Between Reid and Travis

Incidentally, the race is tighter in the Best Import derby with Arizona Reid of San Miguel and Romeo Travis of Alaska, who are both playing in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Finals at press time last night, contesting the award.

Reid, who won the Best Import award before while playing for Rain or Shine, and Travis, who is the perfect fit for the Aces with his inside-outside game, finished the SP race in fifth and seventh spots, respectively.

Both have terrific all-around numbers with Reid shooting an average of 28.4 points a night and Travis 24 per contest.

Jarrid Famous of Globalport topped the SP race with 56.1 points per contest after ending his latest PBA stint with averages of 30.2 points, 23 rebounds and two blocks in nine total games.
Famous came late

Famous arrived five games into the Globalport campaign and could have helped the Batang Pier go deeper in the playoffs.

Finishing second was Liam McMorrow of Barako Bull, the 7-foot Canadian who has become an NBA free agent prospect after his performances here. McMorrow scored an average of 27.5 points and had 20.3 rebounds a night for the Energy.

The duo, though, is not expected to be considered in the balloting since their respective sides bowed out early.

Orlando Johnson, Barangay Ginebra’s small import, was the most prolific scorer among the imports after shooting 33.4 points a night, with Andre Emmet, the NBA veteran, finishing second with a shade over 32 points a contest.