NorthPort’s Stanley Pringle stands in the way between June Mar Fajardo and his record fifth MVP award.
Pringle, the 2015 Rookie of the Year awardee, remained on top of the stats race with a cumulative average of 35.5 points, ahead of the second running Fajardo, who collated 33.1 SPs at the end of the Philippine Basketball’s Association’s 43rd season.
The reigning four-time MVP winner led the MVP race for most part of the season but an injury forced him to sit out most part of the season-ending Governors’ Cup.
He played just three games in the conference and earned just 10.67 SPs.
Pringle also had a limited stint with eight games due to his stint with Gilas Pilipinas but managed to accumulate 34 SPs – the highest among the contenders for the league’s most coveted award.
Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar remained at third with 32.3, followed by NorthPort’s Sean Anthony with 31.3. Matthew Wright of Phoenix rounds out the Top Five with 30.0.
Also in the race are Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel (29.80), followed by teammates Arwind Santos (29.77) and Alex Cabagnot (29.74). Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson is at ninth spot with (29.6) while Blackwater’s Paul Erram is at 10th place (28.5).
Although he trails Pringle, Fajardo remains a solid contender to win his fifth MVP plum considering his Best Player of the Conference awards in the Philippine Cup and in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Meanwhile, Phoenix forward Jason Perkins remains the leading contender for the Rookie of the Year award.
Perkins leads the field with 32.2 SPs followed by fellow La Sallian Jeron Teng who is at close second with 18.7.
Top draft pick Christian Standhardinger and number two selection Kiefer Ravena did not make the list of contenders because they lack the required minimum number of games a contender must play in the season.
