ANTIPOLO, Philippines – Arvin Tolentino solidified his place among the finest PBA players of today.
Tolentino captured his first Best Player of the Conference plum on Friday, March 21, after steering NorthPort to a rare semifinal appearance in the Commissioner’s Cup.
With Tolentino leading the way, the Batang Pier finished as the top seed for the first time with a 9-3 record then advanced to the final four for just the third time in franchise history.
Tolentino averaged all-around numbers of 20.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 18 games as he became just the second NorthPort player to win BPC after Christian Standhardinger.
Standhardinger achieved the feat the last time the Batang Pier reached the semifinals in the 2019 Governors’ Cup.
While Tolentino got contained by TNT in the final four, with the do-it-all forward limited to 12.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists as the Tropang Giga won in five games, his work for the entire conference proved enough for him to snag the BPC.
Tolentino beat out TNT forward Calvin Oftana for the award, with San Miguel big man June Mar Fajardo, NLEX guard Robert Bolick, and Converge guard Jordan Heading also contending for the honors.
Oftana put up 18.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists as he helped lead the Tropang Giga to the finals for the second straight conference.
Fajardo (20.1 points, 16.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 block) and Bolick (23.5 points, 7.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds) went 1-2 in the statistical battle, but both of their teams failed to make it past the elimination round.
Heading normed 17.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in his maiden PBA conference, which saw the FiberXers nearly make the semifinals. – Rappler.com