San Miguel’s Fajardo leads PBA MVP race anew

MANILA, Philippines – Six-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo is again leading the race for the league’s most coveted individual plum, the league announced Thursday.

In a statement, the PBA said that the San Miguel star big man is ahead with 42.2 statistical points (SPs) per outing. His teammate, CJ Perez, is currently second with 36.1 SPs per outing.

Current MVP Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra is third with 35.5 SPs, followed by teammate Christian Standhardinger with 33.6.

The four are automatically in the race for the Mythical Five, the PBA said.

Fajardo claimed the best player of the conference (BPC) award in the All-Filipino conference, while Thompson was the BPC in the Governors’ Cup.

Standhardinger was the BPC in the third conference.

Perez, however, was in the mix in all BPC races.

Meanwhile, Blackwater’s Ato Ular is the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award with 23.8 SPs.

He is followed by Converge’s Justin Arana (22.7), NLEX’s Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (22.1), Phoenix’s Tyler Tio (19.8) and Rain or Shine’s Gian Mamuyac.

The winners, including the Most Improved Player, Sportsmanship Award and the All-Defensive Team, will be named during the 47th Season PBA Annual Awards preceding the PBA 48th season opener on November 5 at the Araneta Coliseum.