Roosevelt Adams, Aaron Black lead PBA Outstanding Rookie race

MANILA, Philippines — Terrafirma Dyip's Roosevelt Adams, and the Meralco Bolts' Aaron Black are the frontrunners for Outstanding Rookie in the PBA's special awards in its 45th season.

Instead of its usual Rookie of the Year plum, the special award is made since the league was only able to stage a single conference due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Adams, for his part, posted the norms of 10.33 points and 8.11 rebounds in his nine games for the Dyip in the Philippine Cup.

He's the third leading scorer of the Dyip, who finished last in the standings, behind Juami Tiongson and last season's Rookie of the Year CJ Perez.

Meanwhile, Black had a breakthrough in the Meralco Bolts' playoff run before losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra.

Black, who is coached by his father Norman, averaged 7.18 points, 4.09 rebounds and 2.09 dimes in his 11 outings for the Bolts.

Also included in the list are Barkley Ebona, MPBL alumni Aris Dionisio and the Gin Kings' Arvin Tolentino.

Ebona played 11 games for the Alaska Aces where he averaged 7.27 points, and 3.36 boards per outing.

Dionisio, who formerly played for the Manila Stars in the MPBL before getting drafted into the PBA by the Magnolia Hotshots, played only eight games in his first year in the PBA.

He averaged 6.50 points per game, and three rebounds.

First-time PBA champion Tolentino, meanwhile, tallied 4.55 points per game in 11 contests He also had 2.27 boards a game.

Tolentino's most memorable shot in his rookie year was the clutch shot in Game One of the finals between Ginebra and TNT where he sent the game to overtime and helped the Gin Kings eventually win.

The Outstanding Rookie plum and the other special awards for the PBA's 45th season will be handed out on January 17.