Who else but JMF

PHOTO: FIBA.BASKETBALL

JUNE Mar Fajardo and Stephen Holt are poised to run away with the top individual awards in the just concluded PBA Season 48.

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo leads the race for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum with 42.1 statistical points, while Holt, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, is on top of the Rookie of the Year race with 34.1sps.

Fajardo will be gunning for a league record eighth MVP trophy which he regained last year after losing it the previous season to Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson.

The San Miguel Beer ace averaged with a league-best 13.4 rebounds, and 17.8 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 blocks.

He led the Beermen to back-to-back Finals appearances in Season 48, including a championship in the Commissioner’s Cup. He was also named the Best Player of the Conference during the Philippine Cup.

Challenging Fajardo for the MVP award are Barangay Ginebra’s Christian Standhardinger (37.8sps) and San Miguel teammate CJ Perez (37.4sps), the winner of the Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference award.

Holt, meanwhile, finished with 34.1sps to lead the Rookie of the Year race by a mile.

The Fil-Am guard, who helped Terrafirma reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years during the Philippine Cup, averaged 17.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals while running no. 6 in the MVP standings.

Cade Flores of Northport is a far second in the rookie race with 23.3sps, built on 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds – tops among the league freshmen.