But these awards are a little, er, limiting, if not altogether predictable. For most leagues around the world, we have the MVP, the ROY, the COTY, etc. Here in the Philippines, we have the Mythical Teams (a fancy schmancy term for the First or Second Teams), the Best Import, the Sportsmanship Award, and even Mr. 100% (shoutout, coach Norman!).
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| LA Tenorio and JV Casio are among the nominees for the Best PBA PG of 2013. (image by KC Cruz/GMANews/PBA) |
This inaugural set of Baller Awards is our attempt at looking at the best hoopsters of the year, be it in the amateurs, the pros, or even international basketball. As of now, the following citations will be given:
UAAP Awards:
Best Point Guard
Best Shooting Guard
Best Small Forward
Best Power Forward
Best Center
Best Foreign Player
Best Coach
Best Newcomer
Breakthrough Player
Player of the Year
Philippine Basketball Association Awards (PBA):
Best Point Guard
Best Shooting Guard
Best Small Forward
Best Power Forward
Best Center
Best Import
Best Coach
Best Newcomer
Breakthrough Player
Player of the Year
National Basketball Association Awards (NBA):
Best Point Guard
Best Shooting Guard
Best Small Forward
Best Power Forward
Best Center
Best Foreign Player
Best Coach
Best Newcomer
Breakthrough Player
Player of the Year
Asian Basketball Awards (FIBA Asia):
Best Point Guard
Best Shooting Guard
Best Small Forward
Best Power Forward
Best Center
Best Naturalized Player
Best Coach
Best Newcomer
Breakthrough Player
Player of the Year
In this
first post, we will look at the top PBA point guards of the year and award the
Baller Award to the Best PBA Point Guard of 2013.
The Nominees:
Jimmy
Alapag – Talk N Text and Gilas Pilipinas
Alapag had a couple of great
accomplishments this past year. He helped the Tropang Texters annex the
Philippine Cup early in 2013 and, more importantly, played a huge role pushing
Gilas Pilipinas to the 2013 FIBA Asia Finals and, consequently, into the 2014
FIBA World Cup. Remember his two huge triples late in fourth quarter against
the Koreans? Shots heard around the continent, baby.
Mark
Barroca – San Mig Coffee
Petron Blaze was the favorite in the
2013 PBA Govs’ Cup Finals, especially since they had superior size and they had
a whirlwind import in Elijah Millsap. The Mixers, however, delivered the
biggest blows in the seven-game finale series, and some of those came from the
diminutive Barroca. The former FEU Tamaraw and Gilas playmaker has grown in his
two seasons in the pros, and it really showed in that series, especially his
22-point, 10-assist performance in Game Five that really seemed to turn the
tide in favor of the Mixers.
JV
Casio – Alaska Aces
Casio can be given a ton of credit for
helping the Alaska Aces win their first PBA title post-Tim Cone. Like Barroca,
Casio is another Gilas program product, and he really showed the maturity in
his game in last season’s second conference. He averaged around 14 points and 7
assists as Alaska swept Ginebra in their best-of-5 Finals series, with the
former Green Archer torching the Gin Kings with 18 points and 9 assists in the
title-clincher.
Jayson
Castro – Talk N Text and Gilas Pilipinas
There are maybe too many good things we
can say about Jayson Castro. Like Alapag, Castro was vital in TNT’s Philippine
Cup-clinching campaign in early 2013. He won his first-ever Best Player of the
Conference plum in there, and that paved the way for his historic inclusion in
the Gilas Pilipinas squad, which, as we now know, advanced to the 2014 FIBA
World Cup in Spain. Castro, of course, was the Pinoys’ secret weapon in that
tournament. He lived up to his nickname, “The Blur,” and left much of the
competition in the dust. In the end, he was named a member of the 2013 FIBA
Asia First Team along with Iran’s Hamed Haddadi and Oshin Sahakian, Taiwan’s Lin
Chih-Chieh, and Korea’s Kim Min-Goo. Not bad company, eh?
LA
Tenorio – Ginebra Gin Kings and Gilas Pilipinas
Tenorio may not have won any PBA title
this year, but he did help Gilas place second in the 2013 FIBA Asia
Championships held here in Manila. Oftentimes, he was the best point guard in
the country, as evidenced by the fact he was among the three PBA Season MVP
candidates this year. He lost out to Petron’s Arwind Santos, but he left us all
wanting more of his superb playmaking and clutch shooting. And with “The Lieutenant”
at the helm, the new-look Gin Kings have actually become the best team in the
PBA as of this writing.
And the BALLER goes to…
JAYSON
CASTRO
All the guys nominate are awesome (duh!), but
Castro was just a cut above everyone else. He was able to achieve so many
things this year, and he can lay claim to the accolade of being the best point
guard in the continent. Currently, he is the PBA’s leading scorer, with the
Tropang Texters near the top of the standings. He’s all set to be Gilas’s #1 PG
in Spain for the World Cup, and, frankly, he has an outside chance of maybe turning
some NBA scouts’ heads. By all intents and purposes, it looks like next year
might continue to be another banner year for Asia’s  |
| Jayson Castro is our Baller Awardee for Best PBA Point Guard of 2013. (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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