
San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
June Mar Fajardo could set himself up for another Best Player of the Conference award after maintaining his statistical lead at the end of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.
Fajardo produced 39.6 Statistical Points after the Beermen earned the right to face the Grand Slam-seeking TNT Tropang 5G at the expense of crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra in the Final Four.
READ: PBA: June Mar fights through hamstring scare to give SMB a boost
NLEX’s Robert Bolick moved to second with 36.6 SPs, Fajardo’s teammate CJ Perez slipped to third with 35.4 SPs while Phoenix’s Jason Perkins is fourth with 35.3 SPs and Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero rounded out the top five with 35.2 SPs.
Under PBA rules, the five are listed as the official candidates for the award.
READ: PBA: June Mar Fajardo eyes rest, recovery but Gilas duties await
With the teams of Bolick, Perkins and Lucero eliminated early, only Perez stands as the biggest obstacle in Fajardo’s bid to win a record-extended 12th BPC.
Forty-five percent of the statistics will be used to determine the winner, while the rest are votes from the media (30%) and players (25%).
Fajardo averaged 16.0 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 blocks after his numbers went down in the semifinals due to a calf injury.
But Fajardo still played an integral role in the Beermen’s conquest of Ginebra, highlighted by his 21 points and 19 rebounds in the Game 7 decider last Wednesday.