Tolentino poised to overtake Fajardo in BPC race

NorthPort star Arvin Tolentino is poised to eventually take the lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference despite trailing San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo in the statistical points race after the elimination round.

Tolentino is within striking distance of Fajardo and is expected to overtake the eight-time Most Valuable as the top-seeded Batang Pier march into the quarterfinals.

The NorthPort versatile forward collected 39.9 statistical points (sps), lurking closely behind Fajardo’s 42.0 sps.

But with the Beermen losing their crown after failing to advance into the playoffs for the first time in a decade and third-running Robert Bolick (37.1 sps) also falling short in leading his team into the quarters, the 29-year-old Tolentino is now fancied to bag the highest individual award of the tournament.

Tolentino has been the most consistent Batang Pier local in the mid-season import-laded tournament averaging 23.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per outing.

The 2019 Draft 10th overall pick’s stellar performance towed NorthPort to tournament-best 9-3 win-loss record.

Fajardo, a record 11-time BPC winner, topped all locals in the rebounding department with 16.3 boards per game and also normed 20.1 points, 3.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals.

Bolick also missed a huge opportunity to win BPC after the Road Warriors got booted out in the playoff for the No. 8 seed by Magnolia. He led all local scorers with 23.5 points and lorded over the assist department with 7.8 dishes per game on top of 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.1 block norms.

Tolentino, however, still has tough competition in TNT’s Calvin Oftana and Converge’s Jordan heading with 32.7 and 32.5 sps, respectively.

NorthPort’s Joshua Munzon (31.9), Converge’s Alec Stockton (31.2), Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson (29.5), Converge rookie Justine Baltazar (28.8) and Ginebra’s Troy Rosario round up the BPC Top 10.

Tolentino could secure the BPC if the Batang Pier would go deep in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is also primed to win a third Best Import award with statistics leader NLEX reinforcement Mike Watkins out of the playoffs picture.

Watkins remains on top of the list with 52.7 sps, averaging 26.7 points, 20.8 boards, 2.7 blocks, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals per game.

Hollis-Jefferson, however, sports 51.8 sps but is expected to get past Watkins with the second-seeded Tropang Giga advancing into the playoffs. The TNT import is averaging 27.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per start.

NorthPort’s Kadeem Jack could give Hollis-Jefferson a run for his money with 51.6 sps. Magnolia’s Ricardo Ratliffe is at no. 4 with 50.1 sps followed by Phoenix’s Donovan Smith (47.3) while three-time Best Import winner Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra is at far 10th with 45.2 sps.