Barangay Ginebra King Mark Caguioa snagged back-to-back Best Player of the Conference plumes after earning that honor once again in the 2012 Governors' Cup, while Rain or Shine Elasto Painters import Jamelle Cornley was named Best Import.
Caguioa, who was also the Best Player of the Commissioner's Cup,
averaged 17.93 points on 43.83 percent field goal shooting, along with
4.33 rebounds, 2.27 assists and 0.93 steals in 15 games for the Kings. Ginebra came a game short of making the Finals, getting eliminated by the B-MEG Llamados in a playoff for the other Finals spot. In
the race for the award, the spitfire shooting guard tallied a whopping
1121 points, coming in second in the statistical category (419), first
in the media vote (482), second in the players vote (70) and first with
the league vote (150). Rookie sensation Paul Lee of the
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters finished second with 694 points, followed
by the B-MEG duo of Marc Pingris (586) and James Yap (537). Powerade
Tiger Gary David brought up the rear with 528 points.
But the Gin Kings superstar guard says he would trade individual succes for team glory. “I’m happy with the award, but I’m not satisfied. Going to the finals
is my goal and I would trade this trophy for a finals berth. When you
win a championship, it brings the team together, so I felt my season
wasn’t fulfilled,” said But Caguioa, who also won Best Player in the Commissioner’s Cup,
admits that he’s thinking about winning the league’s top individual
honor. “Now I’m really thinking about it,” said Caguioa. “Before, I was
aspiring for it. Ngayon ko na-realize na you don’t have to ask for it,
but you need to work for it.” “Pero nanghihinayang talaga ako na hindi kami nanalo ng championship,
especially now na ni-retire yung jersey number ni Coach Sonny
Jaworski,” he said. “We had a chance of winning the championship this
conference, with me playing out there, but we came up short.” Curiously, Caguioa is now 32 years old, the same age Jaworski was when the Living Legend won his only PBA MVP in 1978. “I didn’t know that. And if ever I win, that would be special,” said Caguioa. Caguioa admitted he hasn’t been in best condition, especially after
he suffered an eye injury that cut short his campaign in the
Commissioner’s Cup. “I’m not in great shape. There were times fatigue caught up on me, particularly during our games against B-MEG,” said Caguioa. “But I’m not trying to make excuses. Sa B-MEG talaga ako nahihirapan and that’s a fact.” Caguioa missed Ginebra’s semis series against the Llamados in the
Commissioner’s Cup semifinals because of the injury. He came back strong
in the Governors’ Cup, but once again lost to B-MEG in a knockout game
for a finals berth. This early, Caguioa is already looking to bounce back. “I’m looking forward to next season. It’s really a whole different
ball game right now. So I want to work on my stamina. You don’t want to
take things for granted. I do extra work now, kasi mas grabe yung
intensity ng games ngayon,” he said.
Cornley
on the other hand was a big reason for the Elasto Painters coming out
on top of the standings and booking the franchise's first trip to a
conference Finals. The import normed 23.14 points on 49.39 percent shooting, 10.79 rebounds, 2.86 assists, and 0.93 steals. When
it came to deciding who won the award, Cornley finished with 1033
points, while his counterpart on the Llamados, Marqus Blakely, came in
second with 886, followed by BGK's Cedric Bozeman (553), Meralco Bolt
Mario West (384), Talk 'N Text Tropang Texter Paul Harris (360), and
Petron Blaze Booster Marcus Faison (205).
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