CAN Japeth Aguilar win the battle this time against june mar fajardo?

He Barangay Ginebra The big man stands in the way of Fajardo’s bid for a record. Best player in the conference award, which will be awarded just before Game 4 of the PBA Governors Cup finals between the Kings and TNT Tropang Giga.

Aguilar, 37, won the war against Fajardo, 34, after Ginebra left. sanmiguel in a grueling semifinal series that lasted six games.

Aguilar can achieve a double against his close friend and Gilas Pilipinas teammate if he achieves his first BPC award.

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo, of course, had a big advantage over Aguilar, as he led the statistical race among the five candidates, which also included NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino, NLEX’s Robert Bolick, his San Miguel teammate , CJ Pérez, and another Ginebra player in Scottie Thompson.

Fajardo, owner of a record 10 BPC honors, finished with 44.8 statistical points behind impressive numbers of 21.0 points, 3.1 assists, 1.0 blocks and a league-best 16.3 rebounds.

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That’s certainly well ahead of Aguilar, who is tied with Thompson for fifth place with a similar 32.2 sps.

The 6-foot-9 Aguilar posted numbers of 18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in what has been one of his best conferences while stepping up to the plate as the Kings’ only major force in the frontcourt since the team change. away Christian Standhardinger.

Thompson, one of only two players to win an MVP award in the Fajardo era, is also being mentioned in the conversation following the Kings’ run to the Finals, but Aguilar appeared to have the edge for the award against his teammate of Geneva.

Statistical points account for 45 percent in both the BPC and Best Import races, while the rest comes down to votes from the media (30 percent) and players (25 percent).

PHOTO: Sherwin Vardeleon

A BPC award is one of the few major titles not found in Aguilar’s trophy case, as the eight-time PBA champion has received Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, nine-time All- Star and three-time Mythical First Team. , twice Mythical Second Team and three times member of the Defensive Team.

Meanwhile, should Fajardo earn his PBC-record 11th honor, he will become the first player to earn the conference’s highest individual honor to not play in the finals since Christian Standhardinger last pulled the trick during the 2019 Governors Cup.

PHOTO: Marc Cristino

TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, on the other hand, is the favorite to win a second Best Import plum at the expense of her rival Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra.

The University of Arizona alum has not lost the statistical race lead from the start and finished with 57.4 sps while leading Tropang Giga back to the finals for a chance to retain their title.

The former NBA player averaged 28.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 2.9 steals, ranking him among the best in the league.

Hollis-Jefferson also won the award in the 2023 edition of the Governors’ Cup where TNT defeated Ginebra in six games for the championship.

Brownlee was second behind naturalized team player Jordan with 50.9 sps after posting averages of 28.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks.

The naturalized Gilas Pilipinas player has received the Best Import honor three times.

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