Youngbloods take over PBA Commissioner’s Cup

Best Player of the Conference RJ Abarrientos of Barangay Ginebra was not the only young gun to steal the scene in the recently concluded Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.

Although Abarrientos captured the coveted individual award and the crown, Jerrick Ahanmisi, on his final Terrafirma stint, and Sedrick Barefield of Blackwater also made huge impacts among the locals in the import-laden mid-season conference.

The three guards emerged as the statistics leaders in the tournament ruled by Ginebra after dethroning TNT in seven hard-fought games.

Ahanmisi, now with San Miguel Beer, and Barefield landed in the first and second spots in the scoring department, respectively, followed by Abarrientos, Macau’s Damian Chong Qui, and NLEX’s Robert Bolick.

Ahanmisi averaged 21.25 points, highlighted by hitting the most 4-point baskets with 12 and the most field goals made with 93.

Sophomore Barefield came in behind Ahanmisi by a hairline with 21.08 points while Season 49 Rookie of the Year Abarrientos normed 19.96 markers per outing.

Chong Qui of the guest team, Black Knights, was in fourth with 19.83 followed by former scoring champion Bolick with 19.79.

The Gilas Pilipinas member Abarrientos topped the three-point department with 77 made from the trifecta.

On the other hand, Bolick remained at No. 1 in assists with 8.21 dishes per game and scored the most from the stripes with 74 free throws converted.

Veterans also made their presence felt in different skills categories.

Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang had the most accurate field goal shooting at 66.15 percent, while San Miguel Beer’s behemoth June Mar Fajardo lorded the boards once again with 14.54 rebounds a game and a league-best 5.08 on offensive boards.

Joshua Munzon of Titan Ultra and Zav Lucero of Magnolia were the kings of defense after topping the steals and blocks categories, respectively.

Munzon averaged 2.92 steals per game and Lucero swatted an average of 2.0 opponent attempts per outing.

Jordan Heading of TNT was the most accurate from the foul line at 92.85 percent, Meralco’s Bong Quinto from the 4-point arc (55.56 percent), and teammate Chris Newsome from the 3-point area (46.58).

Jenning Leung of Macau carried the highest average minutes played with 40.51 per game, followed by Ahanmisi at 39.55 and Chong Qui at 38.35.

Among the imports, celebrated 7-foot-3 TNT reinforcement Bol Bol led the scoring with 35.88 points per outing and in blocked shots with 3.94 despite his semifinal exit after suffering a torn Achilles.

Chris McCullough, who replaced Bol, and Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee came in fourth and fifth in scoring, respectively. McCullough averaged 31.9 points followed by the four-time Best Import Brownlee with 31.62.

The Tropang 5G import played the most number of minutes with an average of 41.59, while with his Kings counterpart coming in at second with 41.19.