Take your pick: Best Player award toss-up between David, Caguioa

THE battle for the PBA Governors Cup Best Player of the Conference honor remained a two-way fight between Gary David and Mark Caguioa.

David kept the top spot in the Statistical Points Standings (SPS) by the end of the semifinals with 33.00 SPS despite Powerade’s failure to advance past the eliminations, while a close second is Caguioa, the prolific Barangay Ginebra shooting guard with 29.33 SPS.

The Best Player of the Conference and Best Import awards will be handed out prior to Game Two of the season-ending Finals between B-Meg and Rain or Shine.

Criteria for determining the winners are 40 percent statistics, 30 percent media votes, 25 percent players votes, and five percent votes from the Commissioner’s Office.

Two key B-Meg players have been making a late run for the honor, with Mark Pingris shooting up to No. 3 with 27.69 SPS, while following him in fourth is two-time reigning MVP James Yap with 26.13 SPS.

Rain or Shine rookie Paul Lee is the only freshman to break into the race in fifth place with 26.08.

Marcus Blakely, the explosive Llamados import, is showing the way in the Best Import race with 50.07 SPS.

Rain or Shine’s Jamelle Cornley, likely to crowd Blakely for the honor, is way behind in fifth with 42.86 SPS.

Meralco’s Mario West occupies the second spot with 46.55 SPS, followed by Paul Harris of Talk `N Text (42.93) and Ginebra’s Cedric Bozeman (42.87).

Rounding out the Top 10 for the Best Player of the Conference race are Petron’s Arwind Santos, Asi Taulava of Meralco and Jay Washington also of Petron, all of whom have 26.0 SPS. The ninth and 10^th spots belong to Barako Bull’s Willie Miller (25.7) and Ranidel de Ocampo of Talk `N Text (25.36).

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