June Mar Fajardo now has a baker’s dozen of PBA Best Player of the Conference awards after being hailed as the top performer of Season 50 Philippine Cup.
The San Miguel star received his 13th plaque overall prior to Game 4 of their ongoing Finals battle with TNT on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay — a coronation that was, in essence, done out of mere formality.
Since the elimination round’s conclusion last December 21, he had taken pole position in the statistical points (SPs) race, never to be dislodged.
Fajardo came into the championship round with 44.3 SPs to his name, mainly behind averages of 16.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.
The Cebuano icon beat out Titan Ultra main man Calvin Abueva, the Converge tandem of Juan Gomez de Liano and Justine Baltazar, and Magnolia wing Zavier Lucero on the way to bagging home his 10th Philippine Cup BPC.
Interestingly, Fajardo was the only player to reach the semis among the top-five finishers, eventually returning to the Finals against the Tropang 5G.
Himself a two-time BPC, Abueva ranked second in the stats race with 41.2 SPs as he ended up as the conference’s top scorer with 23.6 points per outing.
But the Kapampangan star’s chances got badly hurt after the Giant Risers failed to get past the eliminations, finishing their first rodeo at ninth with a 4-7 card.
Gomez De Liano, the no. 2 overall pick in the last draft, was the only rookie to strongly contend for the award by occupying the no. 3 spot with 37.2 SPs.
Baltazar, the Season 49 top selection, also finished with 37.2 SPs, with Lucero, the league’s blocks leader with 2.0, ended up at fifth with 33.8 SPs.
Fajardo won the award in runaway fashion after garnering a total of 1,246 points from stats and votes from the media and players.
The 26-year-old Gomez de Liano was a distant second with 732 points, followed by Abueva (622), Baltazar (456), and Lucero (420).
