Barrios defends Fajardo, Thompson ‘Greatest’ inclusion

Selection committee chairman Sonny Barrios explained that the inclusion of active players, June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra, into the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 50 Greatest Players list was a no-brainer based on the criteria set up by the previous screening panels.

The former league commissioner said the committee adopted its predecessors’ decision for an outright seeding for Most Valuable Players (MVPs), thus according to eight-time winner Fajardo and Thompson, who won his in 2021, their seats in the 10 additional names elevated as “Greatest.”

“The original selection committee adopted for the first 25 an automatic inclusion for MVP. Because if you’ll (based it) on playing skills in the PBA, there’s no question that your MVP will make it,” Barrios said during the unveiling of the additional 10 greats Wednesday night at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong.

Fajardo and Thompson bannered the list of stars added to the first 40 Greatest Players, expanding it to 50 in connection with Asia’s first professional basketball league’s golden anniversary this year.

‘The original selection committee adopted for the first 25 an automatic inclusion for MVP.’

Barrios added that the 10-member committee only needed to choose the other eight names with the two MVP winners already seeded.

“Immediately, in the 10 names in our selection, two are MVPs. So essentially the committee only had to choose the eight other names,” he said.

Fajardo holds the most MVP awards in the league as the 6-foot-10 behemoth bagged the highest individual recognition from 2014 to 2019, 2023 and 2024. The 10-time champion also had four Finals MVPs and an 11-time Best Player of the Conference winner.

Thompson, the youngest in the list, won two Finals MVPs and two BPCs.

Other players included in the latest batch of “Greats” were Nelson Asaytono, grand slam winners Jeffrey Cariaso and Bong Hawkins, Abe King, Danny Seigle, Manny Victorino, Yoyoy Villamin and the late Arnie Tuadles.

Also part of the screening committee were four-time MVP and all-time scoring leader Ramon Fernandez, 1990 MVP Allan Caidic and 1979 MVP Atoy Co, five-time champion coach Dante Silverio, broadcasters Quinito Henson and Andy Jao, SPIN.ph editor and former Manila Bulletin sports editor Ding Marcelo, former Philippine Daily Inquirer sports editor Al Mendoza, and Philippine Star editor Nelson Beltran.

The newest members of the honor roll will be formally introduced in a special celebration on 11 April at the Solaire Resort North in Quezon City.