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| Images by Paul Ryan Tan/Marlon Bernabe/Sports5. |
The power forward position has quite easily been the most productive one so far this season. Guys like Vic Manuel and Willie Wilson have seemingly come out of nowhere to be among the most statistically dominant players, while newbie Troy Rosario has joined the best PF convo with guys like Arwind Santos, Marc Pingris, RDO, and Cliff Hodge. Not all of them will be featured among our top five, though.
Without further ado, here they are – the top five power forwards of the 2015-2016 PBA season:
*This is based on the Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net. Stats are accurate as of February 7, 2016.
5. Cliff Hodge (MER) - 11.5ppg, 9.6rpg, 1.5apg, 46.9 FG%
- Cliff Hodge has eschewed the three-point shot for doing what he does best anyway, which is to take the friggin’ ball and punch his way to the cup. He was Meralco’s second-leading scorer in the PHL Cup, and was the team’s best rebounder. He isn’t the tallest guy on the floor, but a good mix of athleticism, tenacity, and sheer will make him very effective.
4. Japeth Aguilar (GIN) - 15.8ppg, 8.2rpg, 1.6apg, 1.2bpg, 48.7 FG%
- Coach Tim Cone has never really had any local player like Japeth Aguilar before, and the bemedalled coach certainly tried to make the most of it in the previous conference. Japeth was second on Ginebra in scoring and rebounding, and he showed flashes of dominance on both ends of the floor. The question, of course, is (as has always been) can he be consistently good?
3. Aldrech Ramos (MAH) - 15.6ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.7 triples per game, 59.4 3pt%, 56.1 FG%
- Take a second to wrap your heads around this fact — Ramos shot better from three-point land than he did form the two-point area, and to think he was already making 55% of his 2-point field goals! The former FEU slotman drained nearly 60% of this triples last conference, effectively epitomizing the term “stretch four.” If he can continue to do that for Mahindra, the Enforcers should have a fighting chance in every game.
2. Vic Manuel (ALA) - 15.7ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.2apg, 55.8 FG%
- Had the Aces won the PHL Cup like they should have, Manuel would have been the unanimous choice for Finals MVP. Instead, the Aces left the door ajar for SMB, and Manuel was hampered by an ankle injury in Game 7. The Muscle Man was outmuscling everyone last conference, and, as long as he is healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he can do that again this conference despite having those hulking imports.
1. Willie Wilson (BAR/PHX) - 17.5ppg, 12.3rpg, 3.0apg, 51.4 FG%
- Last season, it was JC Intal who broke out in a huge way for Barako. This season, it has been Wilson turning heads and taking names. The former Green Archer should be in the midst of his career’s waning years, but, instead, he looks like he’s just starting. Wilson plays with so much fire and energy that one cannot help but marvel at his double-double averages. Clearly the leader for Most Improved Player.
Honorable Mentions:
Arwind Santos (SMB) - 14.0ppg, 9.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9bpg, 1.1spg, 2.0 triples per game, 44.3 FG%
Mark Yee (MAH) - 10.6ppg, 8.4rpg, 1.0spg, 1.0bpg, 46.2 FG%
Troy Rosario (TNT) - 15.5ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.1apg, 1.6 triples per game, 36.2 3pt%, 49.7 FG%
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