San Miguel Beermen giant June Mar Fajardo maintains his hold of the top spot in our 2015-16 PBA Philippine Best Player race, after leading the Beermen to back to back wins over Barako Bull and Barangay Ginebra.
For the rest of the race, below is the standing for weeks 3 and 4.
1. June Mar Fajardo, San Miguel Beermen (Previous: 1)
Fajardo increased his production from 16 PPG in his first three games to 21 PPG in the Beermen’s last two outings, both wins. He had more touches, increasing his field goal attempts/game to 14 in the last two matches to only 11.3 in the first three. With San Miguel on top of the standings with a 4-1 card, Fajardo is on a good pace to win another BPC trophy.
2. Stanley Pringle, Globalport Batang Pier (Previous: 5)
Pringle is chiefly responsible for the Batang Pier’s rise into the upper half in the PBA team standings as Globalport picked up three straight wins. The stretch was highlighted by a 27-point, 8-rebound, and 6-assist effort in a 113-111 win over erstwhile leader Rain or Shine, including the game-winner. Pringle continues to use his almost unguardable off-the-dribble game, creating baskets for himself and his teammates. Pringle is no. 3 in both scoring and rebounding so far in the conference, showing why he is one of the finest shot creators in the league today.
3. Calvin Abueva, Alaska Aces (Previous: N/A)
Abueva played only 21.5 minutes in the Aces’ last two meetings but he averaged 19 PPG and 11.5 RPG. Alaska split its last two assignments but Abueva is starting to become a more efficient scorer. In a loss to Ginebra, Abueva shot 60 percent overall and even knocked down three triples. Abueva has to become a better decision-maker though, as he turned the ball over 9 times in the past two games.
4. Jayson Castro, Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters (Previous: Honorable)
Castro went off for 33 points in a 91-86 win by the Tropang Texters over the Star Hotshots in Lucena, boosting his points average to 23.8 PPG, second-best in the conference. Castro is also putting up 3.3 RPG and 3 APG, while shooting 41.4 percent from three-point area.
5. Greg Slaughter, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (Previous: 4)
It is only unfortunate to see Ginebra not being among the winning teams so far in the conference as it might affect Slaughter’s run in the BPC race. But individually, Slaughter continues to do damage under the new system. He has had a double-double in each of his four games. He is averaging 25.8 PPG and 18 RPG while his 3.8 APG is more than double of his assists average in the past two seasons, a sign he is becoming a better reader in the low block.
Honorable mentions
Vic Manuel, Alaska Aces
Like Abueva, Manuel is providing the Aces with invaluable impact in important stretches. The bullstrong forward is averaging only 21.5 minutes in the season but is averaging 16.5 PPG on 50 percent shooting and 8.3 RPG to give the Aces a huge presence in the interior.
Sean Anthony, NLEX Road Warriors
It was clear in the first two weeks that Anthony was going to give NLEX more than just his hustle, and he continued to play a superb performance throughout the conference although the Road Warriors dropped their last two games to fall to 2-2. Anthony currently has numbers of 18 PPG, 14 RPG, and 4.8 APG, quite literally doing everything at the power forward spot for the Road Warriors.
Terrence Romeo, Globalport Batang Pier
Romeo is quietly racking up 22 PPG to backstop Pringle in the Globalport offense. His production is key throughout the Batang Pier’s winning run and he just needs to improve his efficiency. Romeo is shooting only 39 percent from the field or equivalent of 1.18 points per shot.
