CJ Perez finally scored his first Best Player of the Conference award as he emerged as the top dog of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Friday.
The San Miguel guard bested the Ginebra tandem of Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson, NorthPort main man Arvin Tolentino, and TNT star Calvin Oftana on the way to bagging home the plaque.
Standhardinger actually led the BPC race after the semifinals with 35.7 statistical points (SPs), with Perez a close second with 35.5 SPs.
But the Kings losing to the Beermen in the best-of-5 semis, which also ended their reign as conference champions, hurt the Fil-German bruiser’s chances.
It didn’t help, too, that Standhardinger’s numbers dipped a bit in the battle opposite his former team, who entered the Finals via 3-0 sweep.
Perez, meanwhile, used the said series to strengthen his case, so much so that he went a rank higher after placing just third after the eliminations.
By the end of the semis, the three-time scoring champions had per-game averages of 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals.
Now, he’s won a BPC, at last, after being a consistent candidate for the award since becoming the 1st overall pick by Terrafirma in 2018.
(C) PBA Images
Crowned as the conference’s Best Import, on the other hand, was the versatile Johnathan Williams of Phoenix Super LPG.
The former NBA cager was only second in the race for the said award with 50.7 SPs, behind SMB’s Bennie Boatwright, who had 60.7 SPs to his name behind norms of 35.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a block by semis’ end.
But Williams earned the nod mainly for his impact to the Fuel Masters. Serving as the team’s reinforcement right from the start, he helped the club finish no. 2 in the eliminations, and eventually to their third semis trip in franchise history.
The lefty forward averaged 24.5 points, 16.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.6 blocks in his maiden tour of duty in the PBA.
LOOK: Points breakdown of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner's Cup Best Player of the Conference and Best Import awards @tiebreakertimes pic.twitter.com/4vhmgHAwyM
— Justine Bacnis (@justinebacnis) February 9, 2024
