KRAKEN’S 13TH
June Mar Fajardo got his bid for a record-extending 10th Most Valuable Player award in motion after being named the PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference (BPC) on Wednesday.
Fajardo’s main focus, however, was to continue the Beermen’s dominance in the all-Filipino tournament, which they could put within striking distance with a win in Game 4 of the title series with the TNT Tropang 5G at press time.
“My focus is to achieve our main goal, which is to win the championship,” Fajardo said in Filipino.
The Beermen were battling the TNT Tropang 5G at press time, looking to seize a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Game 5 is slated at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
There was little suspense when it came to the trophy presentation, as Fajardo won the award comfortably with a mix of a strong statistical performance and San Miguel Beer’s run to the Finals. His 13th conference MVP plums, which also extends his record, was a mere formality since Fajardo virtually had it in the bag at the conclusion of the quarterfinals.
Other candidates
Apart from having 44.3 statistical points, Fajardo was the lone player among the five candidates to reach the semifinals, making it easier for voters to select the San Miguel gentle giant.
Other candidates were Titan Ultra’s Calvin Abueva, Converge’s Juan Gomez de Liaño and Justine Baltazar and Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero.
Abueva’s team failed to make the playoffs whileGomez de Liaño, Baltazar and Lucero were given the boot during the quarterfinals.
Fajardo ended the race with 1,246 points, finishing first in the stats race and voting by players and media. Gomez de Liaño, who could have given Fajardo a stronger fight had Converge held on to beat the lower-seeded Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals, finished second with 732 points.
The BPC award makes Fajardo a strong front-runner for the MVP trophy, which the Cebuano center has already won nine times.
That may pose more problems for Fajardo when it comes to fitting his countless awards back home, even if he decided to let go of his first MVP trophy by putting it up for auction to benefit calamity victims in Cebu.
Boss Toyo, a popular content creator known for being a Filipino version of “Pawn Stars,” wound up as the winning bidder with P160,000.
TNT came into Game 4 smarting from a heartbreaking 95-89 loss last Sunday after a three-point lead with 50 seconds disappeared in one fell swoop by a barrage of longrange bombs from CJ Perez.
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