I was
in Baguio with my girlfriend and her
sister when I picked a Monday broadsheet with Jimmy Alapag holding the MVP
trophy.
Sure,
I was happy that the Mighty Mouse finally
got to that level but... did the players and media all voted for Jimmy?
Anyway,
the 2011 LEO Awards pulled in a
bunch of surprises but all in all, the right people won.
Game
starts now.
SPORTSMANSHIP
AWARD
MY PICK: Ryan Reyes
WINNER: Sonny Thoss
Sonny Thoss maybe “The Boss” inside the
court but he has been logging heavy minutes with barely any violations. I’m not
a keen observer of this award but I’m happy for Thoss.
ALL-DEFENSIVE
TEAM
MY PICK: Ryan Reyes, Alex
Cabagnot, Gabe Norwood, Arwind Santos, Marc Pingris
WINNER: Ryan Reyes, Arwind
Santos, Marc Pingris, Willy Wilson, John Wilson
Ryan Reyes is one of the best rebounding
guards in the country today and he’s also one of the league leaders in steals. Arwind Santos and Marc Pingris averaged in double-doubles this Governor’s Cup and they are basically the best defensive forwards
in the history of the league. But then there are the two Wilsons. I’m kind of shocked that Willy and John got the
nod and besting Gabe Norwood and Alex Cabagnot. Willy probably got the
nod because despite his size he was a great help to Ginebra’s cause and John
Wilson was instrumental during the Commissioner’s
Cup. John Wilson is a goldmine for the Kings’ future.
MOST
IMPROVED PLAYER
MY PICK: Jason Castro
WINNER: Jason Castro
The Blur Jason Castro played well despite playing in
Jimmy Alapag’s shadow. Playing
outside Jimmy’s shadow, he exploded big time. With the way he performed this
season, the PBA had it right.
ROOKIE
OF THE YEAR
MY PICK: Rabeh Al-Hussaini
WINNER: Rabeh Al-Hussaini
Again,
this pick posed no surprises. No rookie came close to Rabeh Al-Hussaini this season. The kicker in this pick is that
Rabeh managed to bring his “franchise player”-like tendencies to a star-studded
Petron team. If given the playing time next season (with Jay Washington returning) expect Rabeh to break the sophomore slump
and because the scoring center Petron
has been desperately yearning.
MYTHICAL
SECOND TEAM
MY PICK: Jason Castro, James
Yap, Kelly Williams, Joe Devance, Ali Peek
WINNER: Jason Castro, James
Yap, Joe Devance, Ali Peek, Jay Washington
Clearly
Jason Castro can’t get the PG spot
with Jimmy Alapag in the picture. If I’m going to pit Mark Caguioa against James
Yap, I’d choose The Spark because Yap has only sent his team to the semis
twice. Joe Devance never saw Finals
action so this Mythical Second Team
citation is basic. As for Ali Peek?
There were only two nominees for the center spot and Thoss ranks better.
Despite the fact that Jay Washington
got injured, I always thought that the Best
Player of the Conference award is a clear shot for the Mythical Five. Especially since the BPC he owns is the most
important one, I thought the PBA dropped it when they gave the Mythical Five to
Kelly Williams.
MYTHICAL
FIRST TEAM
MY PICK: Arwind Santos, Jay
Washington, Sonny Thoss, Mark Caguioa, Jimmy Alapag
WINNER: Arwind Santos, Kelly
Williams, Sonny Thoss, Mark Caguioa, Jimmy Alapag
I
thought for sure Arwind Santos will
win the MVP award after his strong showing in the Governor’s Cup. This is what – his fourth almost-MVP year? Oh well.
Mark Caguioa would have won it for
me if Ginebra made at least two finals. I am not sure about Kelly Williams and Sonny Thoss is the best position for his spot. Like I said I
thought Jay Washington was an easy
pick for the M5. And speaking of easy picks, how can you not make a Mythical First Team without the 2011 MVP?
MOST
VALUABLE PLAYER
MY PICK: Arwind Santos
WINNER: Jimmy Alapag
Stat-wise,
I thought Arwind Santos was robbed. If
this was the tail end of his PBA career, he’ll probably resemble Nelson Asaytono. For the interest of
nostalgia though, Jimmy Alapag takes
the cake. He has been with the Tropang
Texters since 2003 and he has been known as one of the best point guards in
the league... ever. Also, Alapag’s leadership propelled the Tropang Texters to
a possible grand slam. It has been fifteen years since the Alaska Milkmen ran away with that distinction and in their
conference victories; Alapag is a two-time
Finals MVP. Sure, one of the problems I had facing the decision was his
lackluster Governor’s Cup
performance. Fact is, the player and the media votes played a huge deal in this
citation. It was as if to say that you can have all the stats in the world but
in our eyes, Jimmy Alapag is this season’s MVP.
And for
this I congratulate him.
I
would like to have the Talk N Text
Tropang Texters complete a grand slam. With the way their season went, it’s
sad to see them not succeeding. With all the individual honors finished, this
is the last thing we need to finish this awesome season.
Game
over.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment