Manila Bulletin
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Basketball
C-Stan, Hollis-Jefferson keep pole positions in BPC, Best Import race
Sports
Basketball
C-Stan, Hollis-Jefferson keep pole positions in BPC, Best Import race
C-Stan, Hollis-Jefferson keep pole positions in BPC, Best Import race
Published Apr 5, 2023 02:50 am
Barangay Ginebra big man Christian Standhardinger seemed to have already locked in the pole position in the Best Player of the Conference race while TNT reinforcement Rondae Hollis-Jefferson kept his hold of the top spot against Justin Brownlee in the Best Import derby.
Standhardinger actually widened the gap from his closest pursuer CJ Perez of San Miguel after a solid semifinals performance that also saw the Kings eliminate the Beermen.
The 6-foot-8 center, who has been holding the fort for Ginebra with Japeth Aguilar still sidelined with a knee injury, amassed a total of 44.2 statistical points against Perez who had 38.3 SPs. That’s a 5.9 differential between the two and an improvement to Standhardinger’s previous 3.5 lead at the end of the quarterfinals.
Standhardinger also upped his numbers to 23.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, powering the Kings’ return trip to the finals and their fifth time in the last six stagings of the season-ending conference.
Still with the chance of taking the top spot from Standhardinger are teammates Jamie Malonzo and Scottie Thompson who are both in the Top 5 of the statistical race along with TNT gunner RR Pogoy.
The high-flying Malonzo came in third and Pogoy was at the fourth spot with both 34.7 SPs while Thompson, the reigning BPC winner, rounded out the list with 34.3 SPs.
Meantime, the Best Import race also heats up with the two imports playing in the Finals taking the 1-2 spots in the list. Hollis-Jefferson, though, remains ahead with 57.1 SPs after averaging 30.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.2 steals.
Not too far ahead was Brownlee who made a huge lift from the sixth spot at the end of the elimination to the second place with 52.5 SPs. He averaged 27.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per outing.
Meralco’s KJ McDaniels was in the third spot with 49.2 SPs while Cameron Clark wound up at the fourth spot with 48.7 SPs.