By REYNALD MAGALLON
A consistent showing in the PBA Finals has allowed TNT guard RR Pogoy to leapfrog teammate Mikey Williams in the scoring derby of the Philippine Cup.
Pogoy emerged as the best scorer in the all-Filipino conference averaging 18.9 points per game to edge out Williams by the slimmest of margins.
Williams’ scoring average dropped to 18.8 points per contest – no thanks to an awful shooting in Game 6 where he was held to a season-low two points.
The Cebuano hotshot was the most consistent scorer for the Tropang Giga with 23 points per game average through the seven games, including 31-point and 28-point performances in TNT’s Games 2 and 6 losses, respectively.
Williams’s performance, meanwhile hit rock bottom in the series after that Game 6 although he bounced back with 22 in the sudden death Game 7, 17 of which he rifled in the first quarter alone.
The TNT’s double barrel attack in Pogoy and Williams fell short against the eventual Philippine Cup champions San Miguel Beer who leaned on the one-two punch of Best Player of the Conference frontrunners June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.
Fajardo, who also led the league in rebounding with 14.2 a game, came in third in the scoring department with 18.7 points while Perez was at the fifth spot with 18.4 ppg. NorthPort’s Robert Bolick was the lone non-finalist in the Top 5 with 18.5 points through eight games.
Bolick’s teammate Jamie Malonzo came in as the league’s second best rebounder with 10.3 boards per game followed by Ginebra’ Christian Standhardinger who had 9.5 rebounds per outing.
NorthPort’s Roi Sumang was the best floor general in the conference issuing 6.5 assists per game while B.League bound Matthew Wright came in second with 5.9 dimes. Perez and Magnolia’s Mark Barroca lead the league in steals with 2.5 and 2.3 takeaways per game while Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar was the best rim protector with 2.6 blocks per game.
In minutes played, reigning league MVP Scottie Thompson spent most time on the floor with 39.7 minutes per game followed by Fajardo and Malonzo who played 37.7 and 37.0 minutes per outing.
In the rookies, Blackwater forward Ato Ular stood tall among his peers leading both in scoring and rebounding with 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
