Defending PBA Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beermen keep their hot streak going in the tournament and along with that rise is the continuous improvement of their giant, June Mar Fajardo.
He tops this edition of our BPC race again, while strong performances from other teams’ key players result in some shake-ups on our list.
1. June Mar Fajardo, San Miguel Beermen (Previous: 1)
San Miguel’s premier big showed why he is still the most dominant big man in the PBA today. He notched a 28-point, 20-rebound night when San Miguel squeaked past Barako Bull then followed it with a 27-point, 16-rebound output in a win against Star. Fajardo shot 67.6 percent from the field in those games and aside from being a bully in the paint, he is making better decisions on the floor.
2. Sean Anthony, NLEX Road Warriors (Previous: Honorable)
Anthony showed no signs of letting up for the Road Warriors, leading the team back to above .500 in the team standings with his all-around effort in NLEX’s 2-1 stretch over the past two weeks. After notching a career-high 32 points in a win over TNT, Anthony averaged 20 PPG, 9 RPG, and 4.5 APG in his past two games on 60 percent shooting.
3. Calvin Abueva, Alaska Aces (Previous: 3)
Abueva is starting to become an effective shot creator for the Aces and it has resulted to a three-game winning run. Abuevas shots/game dropped from 10.8 in his first four games to just 8.3 in his last three outings. Only having 4 assists in his first four games, Abueva averaged 3.7/game in his last three. Making sound decisions has benefited Alaska and if Abueva can continue to use his terrific bounce and speed to pick opposing defenses apart, the Aces maybe even more difficult to stop.
4. Greg Slaughter, Barangay Ginebra Kings (Previous: 5)
The more assertive Slaughter capped a three-game Ginebra winning streak with a 22-point, 21-rebound production in a win over Globalport, getting his team back to the quarter-final picture. Slaughter continues to be a better big man under the triangle, averaging 22.3 PPG, 15.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG in the conference.
5. Stanley Pringle, Globalport Batang Pier (Previous: 2)
Pringle slides to the fifth spot as Globalport lost two out of its last three outings. After averaging 4 assists/game in his first four outings, Pringle was limited to only 2.5/game in the next two, no thanks to Alaska and Barangay Ginebra stepping up their on-ball defense on the playmaker. Pringle bounced back strong with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in the win over Barako Bull.
Honorables
Arwind Santos, San Miguel Beermen
Santos is beginning to take charge for the Beermen and that is scary for the rest of the league. Santos had two 20-point games in the Beermen’s last three assignments and had his points average increase from 12.3 to 17 PPG. What’s more impressive is he only turned the ball over twice in the past thres matches. Thereis more maturity and and he is playing to help his team succeed.
Jayson Castro, Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters
It has been a relatively quiet last two weeks for the Tropang Texters although Castro had his best shooting night from downtown in a bounce-back win over Barako Bull. Castro nailed 5-for-6 from three-point area en route to finishing with 26 points and dishing out 6 assists. Right now, Castro is the league’s best scorer with 22.7 PPG.
Jericho Cruz, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
The sophomore slasher has been on a tear with the absence of Paul Lee, stepping up to lead the Elasto Painters to three straight wins. Cruz averaged 24.7 minutes/game and had 19.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.3 APG on 60 percent shooting in his last three games. This stretch included a career-high 23 points and a player of the week citation as he continues to be on pace for a breakout year.
