Small forwards haven’t exactly
dominated this season, but we did see one swingman really step up in the
previous conference. Of course, I’m talking about Air 21’s Sean Anthony, who
has frequently bounced around in his young career the league. With Anthony
waxing hot, the Express surprised a lot of people in the Commish Cup playoffs. Is
there anyone else, however, who can make this list alongside Anthony? How about
last year’s Rookie of the Year, Calvin Abueva? How about guys like Chris Lutz
or Jared Dillinger? Let’s see.
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| Jared Dillinger is tops among the PBA's small forwards at this point in the 2013-2014 season. |
Without
further ado, here they are – the top five small forwards in the 2013-2014 PBA
season as of the morning of May 23, 2014 (as always, this is based on the
Player Efficiency ratings as calculated by PBA-Online.net):
5. KG Cañaleta (TNT) - 11.6ppg, 4.7rpg,
1.9 triples per game, .332 3pt%, 24.4 EFF
- After one whole conference as a
Tropang Texter, Cañaleta now seems to be comfortable with his new team. He
knows what he’s supposed to do on the floor and, for the most part, he has been
able to deliver for TNT. I mean, check out his average number of threes per
game. This is a 6’5 swingman who’s as streaky as hell, and with much of the
defense locked in on Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo, the situation is ripe
for Cañaleta to have a superb breakout game anytime soon.
4. Calvin Abueva (ALA) - 8.6ppg,
7.2rpg, 1.6apg, 24.7 EFF
- Abueva’s numbers are generally down
compared to his monster stats in his freshmen pro season, but, despite that,
nobody can afford to sleep on this guy. Say what you want about his shooting
woes, his defensive inconsistency, or superfluous antics, but remember this –
his motor is non-stop, He might make a slew of bad decisions, but that won’t stop
him from being on perpetual attack mode. Even without the beastly numbers, this
guy still deserves to be called The Beast.
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| The Beast has quieted down a bit, but in no way has he been tamed. |
3. Sean Anthony (AIR) - 9.1ppg, 5.1rpg,
1.0apg, .371 3pt%, 25.2 EFF
- Anthony made the Commish Cup playoffs
his coming out party. It was just a pity he got injured and that we won’t see
him till maybe Air 21’s fourth or fifth game of the Govs’ Cup. This guy has
always been a dependable and tough-as-nails energy guy, but he showed a
different level of aggression last conference. He just didn’t fear anybody who
was put in front of him, and, perhaps more importantly, he shot the lights out
from long distance. Is Anthony a superstar-in-the-making? Quite possibly, but
he’ll have to continue playing aggressively to prove his handful of impressive
games aren’t just a collection of flukes.
2. JC Intal (BAR) - 10.6ppg, 5.1rpg,
1.5apg, 1.2 triples per game, 25.3 EFF
- The Rocket has slowly become Barako
Bull’s most dependable local player. He has shown much improvement in both
scoring and defending, especially in terms of long range shooting and
rebounding. We don’t see much in terms of his leaping and dunking ability, but
the Energy Cola don’t seem to mind as long as the former Blue Eagle can continue
to be a solid performer at the wings.
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| JC Intal is a baby rocket no more. The kid is blossoming into a bona fide star for the Energy Cola. |
1. Jared Dillinger (MER) - 11.3ppg,
4.9rpg, 2.9apg, .328 3pt%, 27.1 EFF
- The Gilas Pilipinas pool member is putting
up career numbers for Meralco, and he is gradually morphing into the face of
the franchise. Dillinger remains one of the most versatile players in the PBA
as he can play, and be effective at, every position except maybe for center. He
is a handful when he goes strong to the basket, while he has also shown vast
improvement in terms of his three-point shooting. With a couple more good
pieces built around Dillinger, the Bolts might just make the jump from mediocre
pretender to dangerous contender.
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| Jared Dillinger is slowly emerging as the go-to-guy for the Meralco Bolts. |
Outside looking in:
Chris Lutz (SMB) - 24.0 EFF
Danny Seigle (TNT) - 23. 7 EFF
Joe Devance (SMC) - 23.7 EFF
Images by Paul Ryan Tan and Pranz Kaeno Billones/Sports 5.
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