MANILA – Calvin Abueva of the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots is marginally ahead of the pack in a close race for the 2021 Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference plum.
According to league stats revealed over the weekend, the nine-year PBA veteran was barely a frontrunner for the individual award, averaging 35.36 statistical points per game (SPs).
The 33-year-old Abueva, acquired from the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters during the offseason, averaged 16.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game in his first season with the Hotshots.
Mikey Williams of TNT Tropang Giga, the fourth overall pick in the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft, is second with 35.30 SPs after averaging 18.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
Robert Bolick of NorthPort Batang Pier, on the other hand, is third in the individual standings with 35.27 points, 7.3 assists, and 6.9 rebounds.
Abueva, Williams, and Bolick were all in contention for the BPC citation, which will be presented following the All-Filipino Conference. Minus the won game bonus points for the total stats accumulated in the eliminations, Bolick should be on top with 328, followed by Fuel Masters’ Jason Perkins (318) and Abueva (309).
Jamie Malonzo (31.5) of Batang Pier is fourth in the All-Filipino conference’s best individual prize, followed by Ian Sangalang of the Hotshots (31.3) and Jaymar Perez of the San Miguel Beermen (30.7).
Meanwhile, Alvin Pasaol of the Meralco Bolts (20.6), Calvin Oftana of the NLEX Road Warriors (19.1), and Leonard Santillan (15.6) of the Painters all finished behind Williams and Malonzo in the race for the Top Rookie award./PN
