As the battle for supremacy heats up in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel Beer and Alaska, one of the two teams’ top player will be named Best Player of the Conference.
Will it be SMB’s June Mar Fajardo? Or Alaska’s Calvin Abueva?
The winner of the BPC will be known today before Game 4 of the best-of-7 series at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Alaska leads SMB, 2-1.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo finished on top of the statistical points (SP) department following the semifinals with 41.6 SPs with league-best averages of 19.2 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots.
The 25-year-old Fajardo is aiming for his second BPC award after he won his first during this same conference last season. Fajardo’s first BPC award made it possible for him to take the MVP trophy last season.
The fireplug Abueva is at second place with 34.5 SPs, averaging 15.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the Aces. He hopes to upset Fajardo anew just like when he won the 2013 Rookie of the Year plum over the behemoth from Cebu.
SMB’s Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot, acquired from Globalport after the elimination round, are in third and fifth places, respectively, with 33.1 SPs and 31.4 SPs.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s 7-foot center Greg Slaughter is at No. 4 with 32.8 SPs, averaging 14.7 points and 12.1 rebounds.