The top performers of the 2019 PBA season and the 2020 bubble campaign get their well-deserved recognition on Sunday during the PBA Press Corps virtual Awards Night at the TV5 Media Center.
Champion coaches Tim Cone of Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel’s Leo Austria join Commissioner Willie Marcial and Board Chairman Ricky Vargas as special guests in the hour-long event presented by Cignal TV.
The special program, hosted by Rizza Diaz and Carlo Pamintuan, will be shown over PBA Rush on Monday (March 8) at 7 p.m.
The Awards Night will be a two-in-one ceremony as awardees of the previous season stand side-by-side with their bubble counterparts after last year’s scheduled event by the group that covers the PBA beat was called off at the last minute following the outbreak of the pandemic.
Cone, who steered the Kings to a historic Philippine Cup championship held under a first-ever bubble setup in Clark, Pampanga is the recipient of the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble award, while Austria will be handed out the 2019 Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year award after leading the Beermen to back-to-back titles during the 44th season, including a record fifth straight all-Filipino crown.
Marcial, on the other hand, gets the nod for the award Mr. Executive, even as Vargas had been chosen as the 2019 Danny Floro Executive of the Year.
Congratulatory messages from the immediate family members of the late ‘Maestro’ of Philippine basketball and the amiable team executive of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers will also be shown during the occasion.
The Bubble President’s Award will be given to all 12 PBA teams for their sacrifices and all-out support to ensure the restart of last year’s Philippine Cup, while the 2019 honoree is none other than Bulakan, Bulacan Mayor Vergel Meneses, who successfully transitioned to public service from being a PBA Most Valuable Player and basketball legend.
Also to be feted with a major award is NorthPort veteran Sean Anthony, who is bestowed as the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.
Completing the bubble awardees are Justin Chua (Top Bubble D-Fender), the quintet of Calvin Abueva, Chris Ross, Mark Barroca, Christian Standhardinger, and Chua (All-Bubble D-Fenders), RJ Jazul (Mr. Quality Minutes), CJ Perez (Scoring Champ), the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco Game 5 semis (Game of the Bubble) and Aaron Black, Arvin Tolentino, Roosevelt Adams, Barkley Ebona, and Renzo Subido (All-Rookie Team).
A special citation, meanwhile, will likewise be handed out to the PBA staff for its non-stop work to ensure the well-being of the Clark bubble.
The rest of the 2019 batch of awardees, on the other hand, are comprised of Terrence Romeo (Mr. Quality Minutes), June Mar Fajardo (Order of Merit), Perez (Scoring Champion), NorthPort vs. NLEX (Game of the Season), Perez, Robert Bolick, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Javee Mocon, and Abu Tratter (All-Rookie Team), Kiefer Ravena, Standhardinger, Beau Belga, Vic Manuel, Arwind Santos, and coach Yeng Guiao (All-Interview Team), and PBA D-League Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena (Aspirants’ Cup) and Hesed Gabo (Foundation Cup).
