Abueva snares first Best Player award; Onuaku named Best Import

Alaska Aces’ Calvin Abueva. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

“The Beast” finally got his rightful place among the league’s greats.

Calvin Abueva was named as the Best Player of the Conference for the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, claiming his first award before Game 4 of the Finals series between Alaska and Rain or Shine at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The energetic Aces forward outshone his rivals after averaging 17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals to lead his team to the Finals.

He amassed a total of 1,150 votes, 413 coming from stats, 493 media votes, 94 player votes, and 150 votes from the PBA.

Abueva reigned over stats leader Greg Slaughter of Ginebra (752 votes), GlobalPort super scorer Terrence Romeo (488 votes), TNT slasher Jayson Castro (482 votes), and Blackwater sophomore Carlo Lastimosa (378 votes) to claim his first BPC plum.

He also became the first San Sebastian alumnus to get the distinction.

Abueva was also the sixth Alaska player to win the award, following the footsteps of Kenneth Duremdes (twice), Bong Hawkins, Johnny Abarrientos, Ali Peek, and Willie Miller.

Meanwhile, Arinze Onuaku was named as the Bobby Parks Best Import.

The hulking Meralco reinforcement led the turnaround for the Bolts, clawing back from dead last in the Philippine Cup to the semifinals this conference.

He topped the field with 1132 votes to lord over competitors Pierre Henderson-Niles of Rain or Shine (871 votes), Rob Dozier of Alaska (692 votes), and Arizona Reid of San Miguel (555 votes).