IT’S still Barangay Ginebra against TnT Tropang Giga for the Best Player of the Conference award in the PBA bubble season.
Ginebra's Stanley Pringle is battling TnT’s Ray Parks Jr and Roger Pogoy for the highest individual award of the recent Philippine Cup which the Kings won over the Tropang Giga in five games.
With the 45th season reduced to a single conference due to COVID-19 pandemic, the league decided to do away with handing out the traditional MVP award, and instead will give out the BPC title to the player who stood out the most inside the Clark bubble.
The PBA Awards Night – briefly taking over the traditional Leo Awards – is set on Jan. 17 and will be held virtually.
Parks topped the players’ statistical race, but was hardly a factor in the finals after going down with a calf injury in the series opener. Pogoy finished No. 5 in the players’ stats and carried the fight for the Tropang Giga in the best-of-seven title series in a losing cause.

Pringle came only at No. 6 in stats though he was the Kings’ main man throughout the conference, leading the team in scoring from the eliminations to the semis with an average of 18.5 poins while adding 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
He elevated his game in the finals, submitting a team-high 19.6 points (4.6 rebs and 4.8 assists) in leading the franchise to its first ever all-Filipino championship in the last 13 years.
Also contending for the BPC award are the Phoenix duo of Matthew Wright and Calvin Abueva, along with Terrafirma’s CJ Perez. Abueva finished second behind Parks in stats, followed by Perez and Wright, respectively.
The candidates for the BPC were selected based on the Top 5 in stats, along with the highest placed players of each finalist not in the Top 5.
Stats account for 40 percent, while the rest will be determined through votes by the media (30 percent), players, (25 percent), and Commissioner’s Office (5 percent).

Voting starts on Jan. 5 and ends on Jan. 11.
Other awards to be handed out are the Outstanding Rookie (in lieu of the Rookie of the Year), Outstanding/Elite Five (replacing the Mythical Team), Most Improved Player, and the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award.
Aaron Black of Meralco, Barangay Ginebra’s Arvin Tolentino, Barkley Eboña of Alaska, Magnolia’s Aris Dionisio, and Roosevelt Adams of Terrafirma are the top five candidates for the Outstanding Rookie, while the Sportsmanship Award will be contested by Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson, Kevin Alas of NLEX, perennial winner Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine, Terrafirma’s Perez, and Abueva of Phoenix.
The Most Improved Player Award is a close fight among Prince Caperal of Barangay Ginebra, Phoenix’s Justin Chua and Jason Perkins, veteran Meralco big man Reynel Hugnatan, Raul Soyud of NLEX, and Javee Mocon of Rain or Shine.
No Mythical Second Team and All-Defensive Team will be handed out for the shortened-season.
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