June Mar Fajardo has nine PBA MVPs. A record-shattering tenth is well within reach.
The San Miguel Beermen behemoth sits at the top of the PBA Season 50 MVP statistical standings heading into the season-ending Governors’ Cup, building on a campaign that has already seen him win the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award in the Philippine Cup and finish third in the Commissioner’s Cup BPC derby. Across two conferences, The Kraken has been the most dominant force in the league—and the numbers make a compelling case that his 10th MVP is not a matter of if, but when.
Fajardo leads all players with 29.8 average statistical points, built around 17.0 points per game, a league-best 16.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. No player in the PBA produces at that volume across all three categories simultaneously. The rebounding average alone would be enough to separate him from the field in most seasons. Combined with his scoring and playmaking contribution, it makes for an MVP case that is difficult to argue against.
The Challengers to June Mar Fajardo
The race, however, is far from over—and two players in particular are making June Mar Fajardo earn every statistical point.
NLEX Road Warriors guard Robert Bolick sits second at 26.7 statistical points, backing it up with 19.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a league-high 8.3 assists per game. Bolick’s playmaking numbers are the best in the league, and in a season where NLEX hs leaned heavily on Berto to create and control, his assist average keeps him firmly in the conversation.
Converge FiberXers super rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño has been one of the season’s genuine revelations, sitting third at 23.6 statistical points on 17.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. For a first-year player to maintain that level of production across two conferences against hardened PBA veterans is a statement in itself—and it keeps him squarely in the running for the award that would cap a remarkable debut season.
Magnolia Hotshots forward Zavier Lucero runs fourth at 23.3 statistical points, building his case on 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and a league-best 2.0 blocks per game—the most effective interior defensive presence in the league outside of Fajardo himself. Converge big man Justin Baltazar is fifth at 23.2.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s RJ Abarrientos—the Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference and the man who helped Ginebra to the mid-season title—sits sixth at 22.8 statistical points behind 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals. Commissioner’s Cup Finals MVP Scottie Thompson is seventh at 22.61, just ahead of SMB’s Cjay Perez at 22.57. Titan Ultra Giant Risers guard Joshua Munzon—one of the league’s premier scorer at 20.6 points per game and steals leader at 2.4—sits ninth at 22.3, with Converge’s Justin Arana rounding out the top 10 at 21.22.
Record Within Reach
June Mar Fajardo already holds the PBA MVP record outright with nine awards—a mark that defines his place as the greatest player in league history. A 10th would extend that record to a number that may never be approached. He is 36 years old, and likely in the back-end of what has been an illustrious career, but he remains almost peerless in the local scene. That he is playing for a San Miguel squad with the depth and championship culture to keep him in winning situations helps a lot, as making deep runs in the playoffs maximizes The Kraken’s statistical output.
The Governors’ Cup is the final conference of Season 50. June Mar Fajardo enters it with the lead, the form, and a career’s worth of motivation to finish what he started. The record is within reach. And the only thing keeping him from breaking it again is another underwhelming conference by the Beermen, whose quarterfinals exit last conference prevented JMF from adding even more to his already league-leading statistical points. Fajardo doesn’t need a championship this time. He just needs to make another deep playoff run, perhaps a Game 7 in the semis or a Finals appearance, to all but wrap up another MVP.
Best believe June Mar Fajardo is coming for it.
