DUBAI — June Mar Fajardo found himself being challenged by his former back-up in his bid for a sixth straight PBA MVP award.
Although a longshot, Christian Standhardinger is one of three players standing in the way of Fajardo's bid to rewrite league history.
Northport’s 6-foot-8 Fil-German center became a contender for the top individual season award following a first-ever Best Player of the Conference award in the season-ending Governors Cup.
Standhardinger was Fajardo's chief back-up at San Miguel until he was traded to NorthPort late in the season for Mo Tautuaa.
He joins Jayson Castro of TnT Katropa and rookie sensation CJ Perez of Columbian Dyip in crowding out the favorite Fajardo in the race for the league's highest individual award.
Castro won the BPC title in the Commissioner's Cup, while Perez ranks second behind Fajardo in the season statistical points average.
Fajardo though remains the top bet as he leads the sps average with 39.6 while winning the Philippine Cup BPC award.
He also guided San Miguel to a record fifth straight All-Filipino crown and the Commissioner's Cup championship to keep the Beermen on track for a possible grand slam.
Unfortunately, the Beermen, plagued by an internal strife, was ambushed by eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in the playoffs of the third conference.
Perez is a far second behind Fajardo with 33.47 sps but leads the race for the Rookie of the Year.
Castro is at no. 6 with 31.5 sps while Standhardinger occupies 16th place with 26.7 sps.
Standhardinger's NorthPort teammate Sean Anthony is actually running third with 33.46 sps followed by Barangay Ginebra's Stanley Pringle, also formerly of NorthPort at no. 4 with 31.8 sps.
Castro's TnT teammate Roger Pogoy rounds out the top five with 31.7 sps.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Barangay Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar, the Governors Cup PBA Press Corps finals MVP with 29.9 sps for seventh place, Matthew Wright of Phoenix at eighth (29.0 sps), Magnolia's Ian Sangalang at ninth (28.7), and Tautuaa at 10th spot (27.5 sps).
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