Make it 10 for June Mar Fajardo.
The seven-time PBA MVP further added to his record Best Player of the Conference (BPC) collection after being crowned as the top performer of Season 48 Philippine Cup, Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo has now won his eighth all-Filipino BPC after beating NLEX star Robert Bolick, Terrafirma rookie Stephen Holt, and winners of the coveted honor in the two previous conferences in Christian Standhardinger and CJ Perez.
It was actually Bolick and Holt, a favorite to earn Rookie of the Year honors at season’s end, that went 1-2 in the statistical points (SPs) race entering the playoffs after tallying 44.5 and 41.5 SPs, respectively.
But the Cebuano star, then at third, would go on to climb the ranks especially after the two got eliminated in the quarterfinals, with Holt and his Dyip losing to the Beermen — but not before dragging the no. 1 seed to a sudden death.
And as the semifinals ended, Fajardo had taken pole position with 43.12 SPs to his name behind averages of 17.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists as he led SMB to a 4-0 sweep of the youth-laden Rain or Shine in the said stage.
The 6-foot-10 slotman won the award via landslide, garnering a total of 1,100 points from stats and votes from the media, and players.
Per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III, the 449 points is the largest win margin for a BPC since he won his eighth in the 2019 Philippine Cup by 524 points, 1,165-642, over then NorthPort forward Sean Anthony.
At second with 651 is Holt, who’s the first rookie to finish second in a BPC race since former TNT star Mikey Williams 2021-22 Governors’ Cup behind eventual winner Scottie Thompson, who went on to win MVP honors of that season.
Holt at second is the best BPC finish in Terrafirma franchise history as well, beating then-rookie Perez’s no. 4 ranking in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup just behind awardee Jayson Castro, Fajardo, and fellow rookie Ray Parks.
Bolick (641) is at third, followed by Perez (503) and Standhardinger (476).
Now, Fajardo is turning all his attention to helping San Miguel defend the Perpetual trophy against Meralco in the best-of-7 Finals, which if they do would give him PBA title no. 11.
The Beermen are looking to even the series at 2-2.
