By JONAS TERRADO
Who among the five strong contenders is worthy of winning the PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference?
Voting period for the “Bubble MVP” and other awards began Tuesday and will end on Jan. 11, giving players, media and the Commissioner’s Office enough time to decide on their choices.
Perhaps the most difficult selection is the Best Player honors, with TNT’s Ray Parks Jr. and RR Pogoy, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Stanley Pringle and Phoenix Super LPG’s Calvin Abueva and Matthew Wright identified as the strongest candidates to be named in the virtual PBA Awards Night slated Jan. 17.
Parks topped the Statistical Points category at the end of the two-month Philippine Cup bubble at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center while Pringle helped Ginebra become the new ruler of the league’s most important prize.
Pogoy is also in consideration after capping off his splendid campaign with an impressive shooting display despite the Tropang Giga’s 4-1 loss to the Kings in the Finals.
Abueva and Wright, meanwhile, were instrumental in bringing Phoenix Super LPG to the semifinals and were also close sending the franchise to its first-ever Finals appearance.
Terrafirma’s CJ Perez was also nominated for the BPC, but his chances are slim given his team’s lowly performance in the recent conference.
The PBA decided to hand out the BPC instead of the traditional Season Most Valuable Player after the 45th edition of the pro league was cut short to a single conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The six are also in the running for the tournament’s Mythical Five selection which is among the awards that will be given during the festivities.
Also to be presented is the Outstanding Rookie instead of the Rookie of the Year award, with Meralco’s Aaron Black, Ginebra’s Arvin Tolentino, Terrafirma’s Roosevelt Adams, Alaska’s Barkley Ebona and Magnolia’s Aris Dionisio.
Phoenix’s Justin Chua and Jason Perkins, Ginebra’s Prince Caperal, Meralco’s Reynel Hugnatan, Rain or Shine’s Javee Mocon and NLEX’s Raul Soyud will vie for the Most Improved Player after showing significant improvements during the bubble.
Also to be handed is the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award with the likes of Abueva, Terrafirma’s CJ Perez, Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson, NLEX’s Kevin Alas and Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood identified as possible winners.
