MANILA – Bobby Ray Parks and Stanley Pringle are being touted as the top contenders for the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) for the recently concluded PBA Philippine Cup as voting began on Tuesday.
Parks, TNT's current spark plug, finished the bubble conference as number one in the statistical points race but Pringle, Ginebra's streaky combo guard, could get a strong case to earn votes after leading the Barangay to their first PBA Philippine Cup title since 2007.
Votes from the media covering the games, the PBA commissioner's office, and the players will be collected until the following Monday as the finalists for the BPC plum looks to sway them in their favor.
The final nominees for the BPC award are Parks, Pringle, the Tropang Giga's Roger Pogoy, Phoenix Fuel Masters’ Matthew Wright and Calvin Abueva, and Terrafirma Dyip's Jaymar Perez.
The BPC will be named in a special awards night on January 17.
The PBA will be shying away from the traditional Leo Awards and will only award the BPC instead of the Most Valuable Player alongside other special awards.
Instead of the usual Rookie of the Year plum, an Outstanding Rookie award will be given to one of the following: Ginebra's Arvin Tolentino, Meralco's Aaron Black, Terrafirma's Roosevelt Adams, Alaska's Barkley Eboña, and Magnolia's Aris Dionisio.
An Elite Five award will also be given instead of the classic Mythical Selection.
Parks, Pringle, Pogoy, Wright, and Perez are in the running for the two guard spots in the Elite Five, while Abueva is in the frontcourt list, where three will be chosen.
Also included in the forward/center list are Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar, TNT's John Paul Erram, Alaska's Vic Manuel, Phoenix's Jason Perkins, Magnolia Ian Sangalang, San Miguel's Arwind Santos and Moala Tautuaa, and NorthPort's Christian Standhardinger.
The only Leos staples that will be handed out are the Most Improved Player, where Perkins, Phoenix's Justin Chua, Rain Or Shine's Javee Mocon, NLEX's Raul Soyud, and Meralco's Reynel Hugnatan are the final nominees, and the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award, where Abueva, who showed that he is a different person after serving a lengthy ban in 2019, is a finalist along with Ginebra's Scottie Thompson, NLEX's Kevin Alas, and Rain Or Shine's Gabe Norwood. (PNA)
