By REYNALD MAGALLON
As if his trophy cabinet isn’t already full of silverwares, June Mar Fajardo added another feather to his cap, bagging a record-extending 10th Best Player of the Conference plum in a runaway fashion in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.
The 6-foot-10 behemoth was awarded with the second of a back-to-back Philippine Cup-NUSTAR Resorts Cebu Best Player of the Conference trophy before the start of San Miguel’s Game 4 clash against Meralco in the Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, June 12.
The league’s seven-time MVP bested teammate and Commissioner’s Cup winner CJ Perez, NLEX guard Robert Bolick, Barangay Ginebra Christian Standhardinger, and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Stephen Holt of the Terrafirma.
Fajardo was hardly contested for the plum, amassing a combined total of 1100 points from the statistics and votes from players and coaches and ladies and gentlemen covering the PBA beat.
He got 472 points from the stats, 512 points from the media votes and 114 from the player votes
The SMB main man actually led the statistical race at the end of the semifinals and his claim for the award was further solidified by the Beermen’s deep run in the playoffs that saw them get a chance to defend their title in the best-of-seven Finals.
That was also the very same reason that denied second-running Holt and eliminations stats leader Bolick a shot at toppling the immovable Fajardo as the top player in the league.
Holt finished far second with a total of 651 points largely behind the Dyip’s rise from being the league’s perennial doormat team to their very first Philippine Cup playoff appearance.
Coming in third was Bolick who, despite finishing second in the stats race, settled for third with 641 points due to the Road Warrior’s early exit in the playoffs. Wrapping up the Top 5 are Perez at the fourth spot with 503 points and Standhardinger at the fifth with 476.
The win also put Fajardo on pace to bag another record-extending eighth MVP award. He is being crowded by Perez for the plum after a stellar season that saw him take both the BPC and Finals MVP award last conference.
Fajardo, however, holds a slight edge as the league put more weight to the individual awards won during the all-Filipino conference.
