DON’T look now but June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer is again headed for bigger and better days in the PBA.

Fajardo, nicknamed the “Kraken” by basketball fans all over the country, is currently lording it over in the race for the coveted PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference award.

. The 6-10 pride of Compostela, Cebu, who captured an unprecedented eight Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards from 2014-2024, leads all players halfway through the elimination round of the import-flavored conference.

The 31-year center, whose resume includes 10 PBA championships, 11 BPC awards and four PBA Finals MVP plums, posted a 44.8 statistical points to lead over the equally-talented Arvin Tolentino of NorthPort, Robert Bolick of NLEX, Calvin Oftana of TNT and rookie Jordan Heading of Converge.

Fajardo is averaging 19.8 points, a league-best 17.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in seven games for the reigning champions Beermen in the latest statistical points standings released by the league after the holiday break.

There are other outstanding players with monster numbers to challenge Fajardo.

Tolentino, one of the biggest reasons for NorthPort’s resurgence, is well within striking distance of Fajardo at No. 2 spot with 40.8sps.

The 6-5 power-forward from Angono, Rizal, who was selected as the No. 10 pick by Barangay Ginebra in the 2019 draft before being traded to NorthPort in 2022, leads the conference in scoring with an average of 24.7 points a game, while adding 8.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 block shots.

In third place with 37.6sps is Bolick, a consistent BPC contender like Tolentino.

Bolick is averaging 24.1 points, a league-best 7.9 asssists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.

Oftana who has 34.3sps behind numbers of 21.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, and Heading, who has 3.3 sps behind 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, complete the top five contenders for the conference’s highest individual award.

Also in the Top 10 in the BPC race are NorthPort’s Joshua Munzon (32.9sps) at No. 6 while leading the conference in steals with 2.4, followed by Chris Newsome of Meralco (32.6sps), Converge’s Alec Stockton (31.4sps), Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson (29.5sps), and Rain or Shine’s Leonard Santillan (27.8sps)..

The do-it-all Mike Watkins of NLEX leads the race in the Best Import award based on numbers released by the PBA.

Watkins holds 54.9sps as he shows the way in rebounding (24.1) and block shots (3.0) among imports. He averages 25.4 points and 1.9 assists per game.

A surprise second is Kadeem Jack of NorthPort (50.7sps) with 30.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game.

Brownlee, a three-time winner of the award with Barangay Ginebra, is a close third with 50.2sps (28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks).

Donovan Smith of Phoenix and Dean Thompson of Rain or Shine’s made up the Top 5.

Smith (30.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks) occupies the fourth spot with 49.5sps, while Thompson (20.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, a league-best 2.5 steals, and 2.3 blocks) is at no. 5 with 48.3sps.

George King, who leads all imports in scoring with 37.2 points, placed at sixth spot (47.8sps), two notches above two-time winner Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of TNT Tropang Giga (28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks), who owns a 47.3sps.

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Congratulations to former PBA player Leo Avenido and chess champion IM Angelo Young, who were among those nominated for the “10 Most Outstanding Alumni” of the E. Rodriguez Jr. High School for the year 2025.

Avenido of Batch 96 was nominated for making history as the first ERJHS student to play in the PBA and other major professional leagues, while Young of Batch 80 was nominated for his successful campaign in the World Seniors Chess Championships and other local and international chess competitions.

Also nominated for the same award were Marcelo de Guzman of Batch 72, who represented the country in the International Youth Sports Assembly during the 11th Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan in 1972; and Junn Abriza of Batch 91, who made the school proud with his exceptional achievements as a taekwondo champion and coach-instructor in the national teams.

All four were nominated by the ERJHS Alumni Sports Club, headed by adviser Zeny Castor.

Also nominated were Jose Omila, Batch 65; Pedro Jr Buenviaje, Batch 65; Marilou Francisco, Batch 68; Candy Yuson, Batch 69; Fernando Modesto, Batch 70; Moises Samson, Batch 70; Dr Zeny Yangco-Bernardino, Batch 73; Cesar Santoyo, Batch 73; Larry Mendoza, Batch 74; Bernadette Manahan, Batch 75; Tess Vallester Montalbo, Batch 77; Jocelyn Alcantara Navarro, Batch 78; Ato de Guzman, Batch 81; Imelda Gines, Batch 82; Maria Cecilia Brillo, Batch 83; Egmedio Castillon, Jr., Batch 84; and Benjamin Tapeno, Batch 85.

The announcement of the list of nominees came a few weeks after the ERJHS Alumni Association was presented with the prestigious “Gawad Kaagapay“ award by the Department of Education held at the Great Eastern Hotel -Aberdeen Court in Quezon City.

“As one of the pilot schools in Quezon City, ERJHS has consistently produced a lot of outstanding alumni now doing their good works in different fields. All of them are deserving, but we will again choose only 10 outstanding alumni this year,” said ERJHS Alumni Association president Ramon Ferreros.

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AUTHOR PROFILE

Ed Andaya