Fajardo, Slaughter 1-2 in player derby; Rosario leading rookie race
Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Like their titanic rivalry in Cebu when they were still teenagers, June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra have turned the PBA into a veritable turf war.
The two towering, beefy centers literally stood out head and shoulders above everyone else after the elimination phase of the Smart Bro-Philippine Cup, taking the 1-2 positions in the Statistical Points race with eye-popping averages.
Fajardo, the former University of Cebu stalwart, leads everyone with a 45.6 SPs average, with the 7-foot Slaughter just 0.3-point adrift after posting tournament-best numbers in scoring and rebounds.
Slaughter, who was the University of the Visayas center in the Visayas’ Cesafi league before moving to Manila to suit up for Ateneo, yielded No. 1 to Fajardo because the Beermen won more games than the Gin Kings and actually finished the eliminations at No. 2.
Ginebra, which will play Star on Christmas Day needing to beat the Hotshots just once to advance to the second phase of the quarterfinals, settled at No. 4.
Slaughter turned in averages of 23.5 points, 15 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 11 games for the Kings, with Fajardo just a shade behind in the first two departments with 23.1 and 14.4, respectively.
No duo in recent memory has dominated action like Slaughter and Fajardo this season, prompting close followers and experts of the game to concede this league as their playground.
Future of PH basketball
“Definitely, the future of Philippine basketball has arrived,” former Crispa coach and Grand Slam-winning mentor Tommy Manotoc told the Inquirer. “They will dictate what the PBA will be in the years to come.
“There’s no doubt that they will continue to dominate because of their skills and their size,” continued Manotoc, who steered the fabled Redmanizers to a Grand Slam sweep in 1983. “Hopefully, they also dominate internationally with the Philippine team.”
GlobalPort spitfire Terrence Romeo was the second-best scorer with 23.2 a game, with backcourt partner Stanley Pringle averaging great all-around numbers of 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists to be No. 4 in the SP race with 37.3 per game.
Finding a home
Sean Anthony has certainly found a home at NLEX and finished No. 3 with 37.4 SPs a game. Romeo is running ninth with 32.9.
The ageless Asi Taulava rounded out the top five with 35.9 average after turning in 19.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest for the Road Warriors.
In the rookie race, Troy Rosario, selected second overall by Mahindra, which then shipped him to TNT, has emerged as the frontrunner with an average of 28 SPs, close to five points better than teammate Moala Tautuaa.
Rosario, who turned in 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest, is actually No. 14 overall.
