Phoenix guard RJ Jazul. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Veteran point guard RJ Jazul is set to be named the PBA’s Mr. Quality Minutes after his performance in the PBA Philippine Cup bubble.
Jazul, 34, started just one of the 17 games for Phoenix during the bubble but was one of the league’s most potent offensive players off the bench in the condensed All-Filipino Conference.
The Fuel Masters’ skipper averaged 11.0 points, on 33.9 percent from three, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while playing 25.27 minutes a game.
Jazul also tallied a career-high 33 points in Phoenix’s 110-101 win over San Miguel to clinch a playoff berth.
Scottie Thompson rises for the game-winning triple that propelled Barangay Ginebra past Meralco in the semifinals. Thompson and the Kings face TNT in a championship series that will be forever etched in league lore. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PBA IMAGES
Meanwhile, Meralco and Ginebra’s Game 5 affair in the Philippine Cup semifinals that ended in a nail-biting 83-80 win for the Kings was chosen as the Game of the Bubble.
The Gin Kings were the top seeds of the conference barreling through the league with an 8-3 record but all that nearly came crashing down in that pivotal semifinals matchup against Meralco.
Fortunately for Ginebra, Scottie Thompson sent the team to the finals with a buzzer-beating triple and upended the Bolts’ hope for a first Philippine Cup championship series.
Jazul and the Ginebra-Meralco match will be feted in the PBA Press Corps Awards night that will be held digitally on March 7 at TV5 Media Center.