GAB Banal and Jeff Viernes have emerged as the favorites for the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Most Valuable Player award.
Steering their respective teams to a top two finish, the Go for Gold’s hardworking stabilizer and Che’Lu Bar and Grill’s ace guard are neck-and-neck for the highest individual award.
Banal, who played previously with GlobalPort in the PBA, has continued his solid showing this conference, leading the Scratchers with his averages of 15.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks.
Meanwhile, Viernes, who had stints with Phoenix and GlobalPort, has been the Revellers’ undisputed top gun, netting a league-best 17.3 points on top of his 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals.
If Banal or Viernes do claim the honor, it will be the first time in PBA D-League history that an ex-pro has won the award as all of the past winners were still amateur standouts during the time they claimed the hardware.
Despite AMA finishing winless this conference, last year’s top pick Owen Graham delivered good numbers and is among the MVP candidates with 14.9 points on a 57-percent field goal shooting, a league-best 13.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
Che’Lu bruiser Jessie Collado has also been on a tear this year with his 13.8 points on a 54-percent shooting from the field, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while Chris Bitoon was as potent with his 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals.
Jorey Napoles of Marinerong Pilipino-TIP was the lone player to average a double-double this conference as the unheralded forward certainly made his imprint with his 11.2 points, 10.0 rebounds (4th best in the league), 1.7 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.3 blocks (3rd best).
Fil-Am guard Trevis Jackson is the league’s second-best scorer with 16.7 points, and also registered 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals to lead the Engineers.
CEU’s Pierce Chan made his mark, too, posting 16.0 points (3rd best) on a 52-percent shooting clip, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the conference.
The Conference MVP award will be handed out in Game Three of the Finals, with the winner being decided through votes from the media, the league's television partner, and the PBA office.
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