Justin Chua was crowned as the 2020 Top D-Fender of the Bubble in the virtual PBA Press Corps Annual Awards Night Sunday at the TV5 Media Center.
The Phoenix Super LPG bruiser finally has an award he can call his own after missing out on Most Improved Player honors last season. That honor instead went to sweet-shooting big man Prince Caperal of Barangay Ginebra.
Chua emerged as the top shot-blocker of the Philippine Cup bubble, averaging 1.6 per game as the last line of defense for the Fuel Masters. He also posted averages of 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds.
This award is the cherry on top on a breakthrough campaign for Chua, who helped Phoenix reach the semis for just the second time in team history.
With this, the franchise now has two winners in the special awards rites hosted by the group that covers the PBA beat. Veteran guard RJ Jazul is named the bubble’s Mr. Quality Minutes for his contributions off the bench.
Chua succeeded NorthPort veteran Sean Anthony as the PBA’s top defensive player, an award that also won by the likes of Marc Pingris, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross, and Freddie Abuda, to name a few.
