With June Mar Fajardo's San Miguel getting the boot, the Best Player of the Conference award could be NorthPort star Arvin Tolentino’s for the taking.
June Mar Fajardo remained ahead of the Best Player of the Conference race at the end of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup elimination round.
The many-time Most Valuable Player and BPC from San Miguel amassed 42 statistical points (SPs) after averaging 20.1 points, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocks while leading the locals in rebounds with 16.3.
But with the Beermen failing to make it to the playoffs, NorthPort standout Arvin Tolentino could likely emerge as the BPC winner.
Will Arvin Tolentino get his first PBA Best Player of the Conference trophy this Season 49 Commissioner's Cup? | Photo (c) RM Chua/One Sports
Tolentino, who steered the Batang Pier to the No. 1 seed, normed 23.0 points and 7.4 rebounds while also improving tremendously on the defensive end as evidenced by his 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He earned 39.9 SPs.
Meanwhile, NLEX gunner Robert Bolick is running third with 37.1 on the strength of his 23.5-point and 7.8-assist averages, a league-high among locals. He also normed 3.5 rebounds.
But like in the case of Fajardo and San Miguel, Bolick’s Road Warriors failed to advance to the quarterfinals.
[RELATED STORY: San Miguel misses PBA playoffs for the first time in a decade]
TNT’s Calvin Oftana (32.7 SPs) and Converge rookie Jordan Heading (32.5 SPs) round out the Top five.
Also part of the Top 10 were NorthPort ace Joshua Munzon, FiberXers stalwart Alec Stockton, former MVP Scottie Thompson and this season’s top overall pick Justine Baltazar.