History, accolades run aplenty at 30th PBA Press Corps Awards

17 September, 2024
Photo Courtesy: PBA Press Corp
Juan Karlo Libunao (JKL)

The 30th edition of the PBA Press Corps Annual Awards will be full of history when they conduct it on September 24 at the Novotel Manila.

First on the list will be the presence of former Commissioner Renauld “Sonny” Barrios as he will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker on the awards night, and finally reconnect with his PBA family.

Barrios was the longtime deputy commissioner to the late Emilio “Jun” Bernardino before becoming the main man of Asia's first pay-for-play league in 2008.

He left the league in 2010 but continued to work hand-in-hand with the PBA when he became the executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). He held the position from that year until his retirement earlier this year.

Barrios, along with the entire Press Corps led by its president Vladi Eduarte of the Abante Group, will recognize the PBA's top performers who made the previous season a memorable one.

 

Fajardo receives his third citation, Bolick gets his first

The PBA’s only eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo will etch his name in history books again as he receives his third Order of Merit honor. He has received the same citation in 2018 and 2019.

On the other hand, Robert Bolick will receive his first ever Scoring Champion accolade.

In the PBA’s Season 48 edition, Bolick averaged 25.4 points per game to lead the league in scoring in his first season with NLEX Road Warriors after acquiring him in a blockbuster trade with NorthPort Batang Pier for Don Trollano.

 

Game of the Season happens in the Finals

Meralco Bolts and San Miguel Beermen will share the spotlight as their Game 6 of the Season 48 Philippine Cup Finals will be honored as the Game of the Season.

It was the game where JMF and Chris Newsome exchanged clutch plays in the end game.

In a game where the Beermen climbed up from a 17-point deficit, the 34-year-old Fajardo made a surprise attempt at the three-point area off a broken play to tie the game at 78-all with 3.3 remaining.

But Meralco’s captain, Chris Newsome buried his trademark hang-time jumper to lead the Bolts to their first-ever PBA championship in franchise history.

 

Holt and Quinto join the fray

Stephen Holt and Bong Quinto get to share the center stage as they get their first award of the annual event.

Holt, the unanimous winner of Season 48 Rookie of the Year Award, will now lead the All-Rookie Team selection.

He will be joined by Cade Flores of NorthPort, Adrian Nocum of Rain or Shine, Ken Tuffin of Phoenix, and Kemark Carino of Terrafirma.

The 6-foot-4 Fil-Am, was the no. 1 overall pick of Terrafirma last season and as a promising rookie, he led the Dyip to its first playoffs appearance in the last eight years. With that, he was even included in the MVP race and became part of the season’s 2nd Mythical Team.

Meanwhile, Quinto will receive his first Mr. Quality Minutes award - the PBAPC’s version the Sixth Man of the Year.

The Meralco guard edged out SMB’s Jericho Cruz who won the award last year.

Quinto played 39 games last year and he averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 26 minutes for the Bolts.

 

Other accolades

Lifetime Achievement Award will be handed out for the second time in the 30-year history of the awards night handed out by the men and women who cover the PBA.

Other citations to be given out are the President’s Award, Defensive Player of the Year, and Bogs Adornado Comeback Player of the Year.

There would also be a special tribute to the PBA family members who passed away. They will be honored with a minute of silence and a final buzzer.

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Castro makes immediate impact in his return

Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.

Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.

TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.

Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.

Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.

The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.

With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.

The game was the last of the year for both teams.

TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Heading, Diallo lead Converge to win number 4

Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.

Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.

Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.

"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.

"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.

Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.

Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11. 

The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.

 

The Scores:

CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.

PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.

Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.

HK Eastern denies SMB maiden win in EASL

San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.

Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game. 

Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.

After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.

However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.

Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team. 

Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.

The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.

San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.

 

The Scores:

Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0. 

San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0. 

Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62. 

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