2 MVP's in a month and the (Governor's) Cup

Posted by : Syd Salazar Tuesday, May 15, 2012

2 former Powerade teammates and a Yap.
Got this pic from the PBA website.

James Yap is in a wonderful place right now. Exactly a week past B-Meg’s historic stoppage of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters in the 2012 PBA Commissioner’s Cup which destroyed TNT’s grand slam hopes and earned him a Finals MVP award, Big Game James is back to his dominating self anew.

Treating the Laoag City crowd with his pinpoint offensive sniping, and thanks duly to the all-star environment where defensive intensity is almost non-existent, James Yap scored 44 points which ultimately led to the All-Star MVP cite.

It’s not as if he was the lone destructive force on the game. Ginebra rookie phenom Dylan Ababou, who is slated to provide the offense for the Mark Caguioa-less Kings in the coming Governor’s Cup, also scored 44 points. However Yap alongside Arwind Santos’ 31 points and 18 rebounds led the Veterans to a 176 to 144 blowout of the RSJ squad.

The 44-point mark destroyed Samboy Lim’s almost 23-year-old record of 42 points when he was part of the Veterans squad that routed the RSJ All-Stars in the 1989 All-Star Game.

Both MVP citations won’t matter in the Season MVP race though. If this is the WWE, this is like winning the European Title and the Hardcore Title while working on the WWE Title. This is a nice way however for Yap to make his own grand slam of sorts.

So the Governor’s Cup will be an important conference for those individuals in search for individual accolades.

In the current MVP race, this is where he stands at the moment:

1 – GARY DAVID POWERADE TIGERS * PHILIPPINE CUP BEST PLAYER
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 28 GMS	25.8	3.9	2.4
COMCUP – 10 GMS	27.1	3.4	1.9
Benjie Paras won the MVP and the Rookie of the Year title in the same year even if he didn’t lead his team to a championship. Actually, Paras did it as San Miguel completed a grand slam in 1989. David is having an epic season and it helps that TNT will not have a grand slam season. As long as he delivers a strong and lengthy Govs Cup exposure, his MVP campaign remains strong.

2 – MARK CAGUIOA BARANGAY GINEBRA KINGS * COMMISSIONER’S CUP BEST PLAYER
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 16 GMS	14.4	4.1	2.2
COMCUP – 10 GMS	16.9	6.4	2.4
He ranks second because he won the Commish Cup BPC but with the way his injury is getting to his playing time, I can’t see him winning the MVP title. It’s a shame because last season we almost saw the Spark winning the highly-coveted plum. Although at hindsight, stranger things have happened in the PBA.

3 – MARCIO LASSITER PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 28 GMS	16.9	6.0	3.9
COMCUP – 10 GMS	17.7	5.9	3.6
If there’s one good thing about Lassiter leaving Powerade, it opens up the possibility of him overtaking Gary David. He is one of the lifelines of the Tigers and surely his departure will wreck Powerade’s title hopes. But then again, he’ll play alongside Arwind Santos and who knows how this development will make or break his season.

4 – JAYSON CASTRO TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 26 GMS	15.4	5.1	4.5
COMCUP – 20 GMS	14.5	3.2	3.2
It’s a travesty that Castro wasn’t considered in the All-Star games because he was one of the reasons why TNT won the Philippine Cup despite Jimmy Alapag’s health issues. His all-star boycott could have bothered people but since he wasn’t part of the main event, one would wonder if people are ready for Castro to be their next MVP.

5 – ARWIND SANTOS PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 23 GMS	17.3	11.8	1.3
COMCUP – 9 GMS	13.3	11.1	1.3
A perennial title contender, Santos is again in arm’s reach of the MVP plum. The explosive combo forward will probably see his stats diminish following the returns of Dondon Hontiveros and Jay Washington and the entry of Dorian Pena and Marcio Lassiter. If there’s one nice thing about Arwind though, he can get his stats playing alongside superstars as long as they give him minutes.

6 – JAMES YAP B-MEG LLAMADOS * COMMISSIONER’S CUP FINALS MVP
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 16 GMS	19.0	5.2	2.3
COMCUP – 24 GMS	15.2	4.3	2.3
Like I said, as long as Yap leads B-Meg to another finals stint, expect him to make a strong case for his third MVP plum. With that said though, he needs a stronger showing in this conference. In the Commissioner’s Cup, it was certain that the whole team rode solely on Denzel Bowles’ dominance.

7 – ALEX CABAGNOT PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 23 GMS	14.3	4.1	6.9
COMCUP – 9 GMS	12.9	2.4	6.4
The guy had a remote chance of winning the trophy with Arwind Santos on board and now he has to also contend with consensus Top Rookie Lassiter. If there’s any consolation on A-Cab, the influx of bigs will leave a lot of them begging for minutes as he sits back and minds his own business at the PG spot.

8 – KELLY WILLIAMS TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 24 GMS	11.4	7.8	1.1
COMCUP – 21 GMS	6.9	5.8	1.2
Kelly Williams just like last season is struggling to return to his old Sta, Lucia MVP form. However, because he is associated to a team that leads the league in games. The PBA is unlike the NBA where a MVP is chosen because of his regular season play, which is a plus for K-Will. The bad thing though is as long as Jayson Castro does well, he’ll likely settle for a mythical team selection.

9 – WILLIE MILLER BARAKO BULL ENERGY
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 15 GMS	15.8	4.9	4.7
COMCUP – 17 GMS	14.9	4.3	3.7
The jolly jitterbug returned to form this season as one of the league’s elite but unless Barako Bull churns out a massive explosion, I can’t see The Thriller to even make the Mythical Ten. Only if Barako Bull has the capabilities of doing another forceful entry to the semis will I change my perception on Miller’s situation.

10 – JV CASIO POWERADE TIGERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 24 GMS	12.7	2.8	6.1
COMCUP – 10 GMS	11.7	3.4	7.2
For a player who started his rookie season at the sidelines and nursing his injuries, his capabilities to become one of the league’s elite is enticing. Those wonderful assist numbers should drop since the transfer of Lassiter will give him a green light to score more. Like I said a while back, he has an outside chance to claim Top Rookie honors if Petron falters and Powerade makes it to the finals.

11 – LARRY FONACIER TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS * PHILIPPINE CUP FINALS MVP
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 27 GMS	10.7	5.2	2.0
COMCUP – 21 GMS	10.3	3.3	1.3
It’s a well-known fact that Fonacier was taken by TNT to take over what Macmac Cardona did for them. While he is not a big-time scorer, he did the other intangibles to make their offense and defense more refined. He also the Philippine Cup’s Finals MVP.

12 – SEAN ANTHONY POWERADE TIGERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 27 GMS	10.5	7.0	2.1
COMCUP – 10 GMS	9.5	6.0	2.5
While I’m ticked that this guy failed to make the all-star lineup, Anthony should have an improved standing on the squad following the transfer of Lassiter. The guy is a small forward that can also hold his own at the four spot. If you check out his, Williams, and Norwood’s stats you can see that they are seriously identical.

13 – JIMMY ALAPAG TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS * 2011 PBA MVP
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 18 GMS	11.9	2.3	5.5
COMCUP – 21 GMS	10.3	2.6	4.8
It’s certain that the reigning MVP will not repeat and while his team will also not have a grand slam season, all is not lost for The Mighty Mouse. Despite his fluctuating minutes, he has managed to deliver the goods for his team and with Jayson Castro and Ryan Reyes nursing their recurring injuries, Jimmy should provide sufficient help.

14 – DOUG KRAMER BARAKO BULL ENERGY
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 28 GMS	11.3	10.8	1.0
COMCUP – 10 GMS	5.6	4.2	0.5
It’s pitiful to see him go to Barako Bull because he gained so much as a member of the Powerade squad. Granted that Dwayne Jones gave him little minutes to work on, Kramer still had a pretty superb Philippine Cup campaign. The Governor’s Cup will likely feature SG/SF imports so he could have showed off his power for the Tigers this conference.

15 – PAUL LEE RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 22 GMS	14.8	4.1	4.8
COMCUP – 9 GMS	11.6	4.1	3.2
He slowed down during the Commissioner’s Cup although I blame the team’s decision to stick it out with a SF-like import instead of an inside operator type. Anyway, Paul Lee has had an amazing rookie season and what better way to cap it off than with a finals appearance. Only five rookies have seen finals action this season: Casio, Lassiter, Mark Barroca, Pamboy Raymundo, and Rudy Lingganay.

16 – LA TENORIO ALASKA ACES
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 14 GMS	13.6	5.6	5.4
COMCUP – 12 GMS	15.3	5.0	5.6
With a very shallow bench, Tenorio is getting extended minutes. This is nice for LA since if he’s playing for the big-budgeted teams, chances are he’ll play less and average even fewer. However, the bad thing for him is that he needs to carry a team that has a slim chance to reach the finals. He has been in the rumor trade mill for some time now and I don’t see this changing.

17 – PETER JUNE SIMON B-MEG LLAMADOS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 15 GMS	14.8	3.7	1.5
COMCUP – 24 GMS	11.1	4.3	1.6
Tim Cone loves Simon’s heady play and before the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs, he looks like the player who enjoys Cone’s coaching the most. With their title win, expect Simon to have a better role in the squad. Look for the Yap-Simon combo to rein supreme which will prove to be B-Meg’s ticket to claim their second consecutive title.

18 – SONNY THOSS ALASKA ACES
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 14 GMS	15.4	9.4	2.4
COMCUP – 12 GMS	10.8	8.2	2.1
Like Tenorio, the guy is a constant trade talk. Can’t blame people from getting him though. The dying breed bannered then by Abet Guidaben, Jerry Codinera, and Marlou Aquino has only him and Asi Taulava left. With Asi nearing 40, the pure inside threat that is The Boss should at least give the Aces a respectable finish if he’s thinking of leaving the team after this season.

19 – JARED DILLINGER TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 23 GMS	9.9	3.3	1.4
COMCUP – 21 GMS	10.7	2.9	2.0
The Daredevil is finally strutting his wares after a couple of seasons of inactivity. Dillinger was instrumental in the Commissioner’s Cup finals and has responded to the challenge that Japeth Aguilar has yet to recognize. Look for him to deal the damage if his teammates are still incapable to play at the top (Chot Reyes) level.

20 – GABE NORWOOD RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS
CONF/GAMES	POINTS	REBOUNDS	ASSISTS
PHILCUP – 23 GMS	8.1	6.4	3.8
COMCUP – 9 GMS	8.0	7.6	3.0
While his offense has been abysmal since Yeng Guiao took over from Caloy Garcia, it’s no secret that Norwood has other weapons in his arsenal. This point forward can actually facilitate an offensive onslaught when needed. But still with Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, and Ronjay Buenafe providing the offense, it will seriously help the ROS cause if Norwood catches fire and explodes.

So there it is, James Yap will have a chance to complete a mini-grand slam. Whether it’s the MVP, a Finals MVP, or a make up MVP that the AKTV Center guys pulled, something tells me that we’re in for a treat.

Still though I want Gary David to win the MVP award so that the San Miguel Corporation will realize his achievement and take care of the Powerade Tigers. With reports of SMC on the verge of talent-raping the team next season, they need to shine and prove the rest of the league otherwise.

So to end this article, here is a very vintage clip from Youtube.