Fajardo a cinch for BPC

“An individual award is not important to me. The most important thing is to win the championship.

June Mar Fajardo is on his way to clinching the Best Player of the Conference plum while Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman are in a tight race for the Best Import award as the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Finals heat up.

Fajardo, a four-time Most Valuable Player awardee, is virtually assured of the conference highest individual honor after topping the statistical derby with 39.12 points after the semifinals.

Stanley Pringle of Globalport is in far second with 35.60 points while Vic Manuel of Alaska has 35.44 points, Sean Anthony has 33.62 points and Chris Newsome has 31.31 points to round out the top five.

It’s going to be Fajardo’s seventh BPC award, which will be given before Game 4 of the ongoing best-of-seven titular showdown between San Miguel Beer and Ginebra.

This feat will also push him closer to a historic fifth MVP crown.

Still, winning the title outweighs any individual honor.

“An individual award is not important to me. The most important thing is to win the championship,” Fajardo said.

Meanwhile, two of the best guest players this conference – Balkman and Brownlee – are locked in a neck-and-neck battle for Best Import.

After helping Ginebra crawl back from a 1-5 start, Brownlee amassed 54.46 points to gain the edge over Balkman (51.0 points), who also pumped life into San Miguel’s campaign from a 0-3 start.

If Brownlee sustains the lead, he would formally grab his first Best Import plum after falling short to Allen Durham in 2014 and 2017 Governor’s Cup despite leading the Kings to the finals.

Brownlee’s impact even without a Best Import trophy yet is enough as teammate LA Tenorio already installed him on the list of best imports ever to campaign in the PBA.

“For me, he’s the best import I’ve ever played with for my entire professional career,” Tenorio said after the former St. John University star torched the Beermen with 42 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in Ginebra’s 127-99 win in Game 1.

With Brownlee and Balkman being the candidates who are still in title contention, the Best Import plum now depends on their performances in the last few games of this finals duel.

Rounding out the final candidates for the said award are Alaska’s Diamond Simpson (49.0 points) and Rain or Shine’s Reggie Johnson (47.8 points) for helping their respective teams reach the semis.

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