(c) PBA Media Bureau
The semifinals have been five games long. Heroes and villains have arrived. Both series are competitive as expected.
Today, we will give recognition to the top five performers after five games.
#5 Gabe Norwood
Gabe is used to being overshadowed by his teammates. Beau Belga and Javee Mocon have received more focus in the surprising 2-1 series lead of Rain or Shine over Magnolia.
The fans are overlooking what Gabe is doing. Gabe was the most consistent offensive player and their most versatile defender in the first three games of the series. Coach Caloy has made a daring move of making Gabe the point guard on offense which led Gabe to be the top assist man of the Elasto Painters in two of their three semifinals games.
#4 Ian Sangalang
Game 3 was a reintroduction of sort of Ian to Rain or Shine. Knowing that Ian was on the groove, Magnolia run almost all of their last 10 half-court sets through him and he did score over-and-over again.
The defense of Ian is an underrated part of his game. He is a competent switch defender. He can handle any guards, as long they are not one of the five quickest in the league, in the perimeter.
#3 June Mar Fajardo
I do not know what is happening but Fajardo was a normal giant in their first two games against Phoenix. It was great that they got the victories but still, I was not satisfied with his 28 points and 27 rebounds total production. We know he can actually make those numbers in a single game.
Nonetheless, the presence alone of Fajardo has been a big help on both ends of the court for San Miguel. Do they really need him to provide more in their next games? We will see.
#2 Marcio Lassiter
One reason why Fajardo may not need to overwork himself for the remainder of the series is the consistency of Marcio. His three-point shot is clicking, making four of his 13 attempts in their first two games.
Other than his shooting, Marcio has been aggressive and have been a magnet of fouls in their first two games where he attempted 16 already and he has made 14.
#1 Calvin Abueva
Love him or hate him but Abueva will always play 100% when he is inside the court. I think, the best number to represent his effect on his team in the first two games was his +1 net rating. Meaning, if we combine all his minutes inside the court, Phoenix outscored San Miguel by one point.
In the first two games, Abueva was averaging 17 points, 15.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game. That is ridiculous! Yes, he actually committed 12 turnovers in the first two games but Phoenix can live with that if he could sustain his current production.
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