Something more at stake
Bragging rights between sister teams San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra are not all that’s at stake in their best-of-seven showdown in the PBA Governors’ Cup that started at press time at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The series could also be a referendum on the chase for the Best Player of the Conference award, which has the Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez and the Gin Kings’ Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson as those with strong chances of winning.
After group play, Fajardo topped the derby after the group stage with 43.9 Statistical Points to boost his chances of a record-extending 11th BPC plum, while Perez, who won the award during last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, was fourth with 37.0.
But if Ginebra comes out victorious, it may open the door for Aguilar to finally win the award he has yet to claim in a 14-year career in the big league. Aguilar compiled an average of 33.4 SPs during the group phase to go fifth in the tally.
Thompson is sixth with 30.3, but a strong playoff showing could put him in the conversation to win the BPC for the third time. His previous wins came in the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup and 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup that saw Ginebra capture the title on both occasions.
The league has yet to release an updated tabulation at the end of the quarterfinals, but the four are likely to remain among the top contenders.
NLEX’s Robert Bolick and NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino were ranked second and third in the SP race after the group stage, but are likely out of the equation as their teams have already been eliminated.
Bolick and NLEX were booted out by TNT in the quarters.
The Ginebra-San Miguel series pits teams that split their two meetings in the group stage in contrasting fashion.
Ginebra beat San Miguel in the first meeting after Justin Brownlee dropped 51 points in a 108-102 win. But the tables were turned in the second round as the Beermen walloped the Gin Kings by 49 points.
It was in the same game where Marcio Lassiter became the league’s all-time leader in career three-pointers made.
The series could also boost the chances of Brownlee to win a fourth Best Import, which would break his tie with Allen Durham for second on the list.
Brownlee placed sixth after the group stage with 47.4 Statistical Points, but four of the five imports above him are no longer playing, with either teams being ousted from the conference or have been sent home for various reasons.
TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who will try to give his team the head start against Rain or Shine in the other semis series, was second in the Best Import derby entering the playoffs.
