The PBA held its Leo Awards on Sunday to honor the best of the best of Season 49. Leading the way, unsurprisingly, was June Mar Fajardo, who copped his record-resetting ninth MVP and headlined both the Mythical First Team and All-Defensive Team. Others who went up the podium to receive awards were RJ Abarrientos of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Joshua Munzon of NorthPort Batang Pier, and Zavier Lucero of Magnolia Hotshots.
Now, we’re not saying anyone didn’t deserve his award, but the beauty of it all is that we’re free to nitpick if the PBA got things right in handing out said awards. In our assessment, most of the awards went to the right people, though we thought a couple could’ve gone to someone else. So, check out below what we thought of the Leo Awards. Let us know what you think as well in the comments section.
MVP: June Mar Fajardo
Hard to mess this one up as Fajardo lorded over the league yet again, finishing second in points (19.2 PPG) and first in rebounds (15.1 RPG) while leading the San Miguel Beermen to the Philippine Cup title and a semis stint in the Governors’ Cup.
Verdict: This was a no-brainer. The Leo Awards is Fajardo’s playground.
Who Else Could’ve Won? Robert Bolick had the stats, but probably didn’t win enough games to sway votes his way.
Rookie of the Year: RJ Abarrientos
Abarrientos played well for a winning franchise, helping Barangay Ginebra San Miguel make it to two Finals and one semis. He also had his moments in big games. At the end of the day, you have to reward a player that contributed to winning basketball.
Verdict: Tiongson and Barefield excelled, but again, the PBA traditionally rewards players in winning teams. From that metric, the league got this right.
Who Else Could’ve Won? Caelan Tiongson had quite a rookie year himself, and a Finals appearance could’ve won him some more votes. Sedrick Barefield posted the best stats of all the rookies—18.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.9 BPG—but didn’t really win anything.
Most Improved Player: Joshua Munzon
Munzon finally played like a no. 1 pick in Season 49, putting up 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.0 steals a game and emerging as a true two-way force. There’s no doubt he earned the MIP award, though a couple of players could’ve probably beat him to hit.
Verdict: A few players vastly improve in Season 49, too, but Munzon was the best of the lot arguably.
Who Else Could’ve Won? Adrian Nocum deservedly got lots of votes and probably should’ve had more after helping the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to three semis stints in Season 49. Schonny Winston picked up his game considerably as well, as did Zavier Lucero and Alec Stockton.
All-Defensive Team: Zav Lucero, Junemar Fajardo, Stephen Holt, Joshua Munzon, Glenn Khobuntin
June Mar Fajardo anchored that San Miguel interior like he has always done, Zavier Lucero looked like Arwin Santos with his defensive versatility, and Joshua Munzon was a passing lane pest all season long. Stephen Holt and Glenn Khobuntin, on the other hand, were one-on-one specialists, taking on the challenge of guarding the best players of the other team.
Verdict: Lucero, Holt, Munzon, and Khobuntin deserve to be hailed for their defensive work last season. But Fajardo? He played big inside and gobbled up rebounds but was a liability on pick-and-rolls and fast-paced actions. Take him away from the paint and he’s a cone. We’d Poy Erram was vastly superior than The Kraken in terms of overall defense.
Who Else Could’ve Won? Aside from Erram, one could make strong cases for Scottie Thompson, Kelly Williams, and maybe CJay Perez, Chris Ross, and Chris Newsome.
Mythical First Team: Junemar Fajardo, Calvin Oftana, Arvin Tolentino, CJay Perez, Robert Bolick
Mythical Second Team: Justin Arana, Japeth Aguilar, Zavier Lucero, Scottie Thompson, Roger Pogoy
The Mythical Teams for Season 49 would’ve made for a good Gilas Pilipinas core, no? To some degree, Fajardo and company were the 10 best players last season, and it’s hard to argue that.
Verdict: No argument here.
Who Else Could’ve Won? Newsome could’ve made it instead of Pogoy and no one would raise hell.
