Fajardo wins second straight MVP award; Pringle named Rookie of the Year

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo added another milestone on his ascension through Philippine basketball by taking home the PBA’s Most Valuable Player award for a second straight season during the league’s annual Leo Awards on Friday, July 17, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Fajardo, 25, has averaged 17.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks a contest this season, helping lead the Beermen to the Philippine Cup championship and to what’s currently a 3-0 finals series lead over the Alaska Aces in the Governors’ Cup finals. 

Fajardo becomes the first player to win the league’s top laurel in back-to-back years since Danny Ildefonso did so in 2000-2001, and just the fourth overall after Bogs Adornado and Alvin Patrimonio accomplished the same feat prior.

Back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo’s short speech. Shorter compared to last year. http://t.co/gH6NvvJJGL #PBALeoAwards pic.twitter.com/zOW1FTFSHf

— Jane Bracher (@janebracher) July 17, 2015

Fajardo was also awarded the Sportsmanship Award and was included in the league’s Mythical First Team, along with Talk ’N Text guard Jayson Castro, Rain or Shine guard Paul Lee, Barangay Ginebra center Greg Slaughter, and San Miguel forward Arwind Santos.

Fajardo was also recognized for his defensive acumen by being part of the league’s All-Defensive team with teammate Chris Ross, plus Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine, and Alaska guard Ping Exciminiano and forward Calvin Abueva. 

Talk ’N Text forward Ranidel de Ocampo – who was the Finals MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup – NLEX 42-year-old big man Asi Taulava, Abueva and GlobalPort dynamic duo Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle compose the Mythical Second Team.  

Pringle, 28, who was taken first overall in the 2014 PBA Draft, was named the Rookie of the Year after putting up 14.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.5 steals a contest.

His teammate Romeo, meanwhile, was named the league’s Most Improved Player of the Year in his sophomore campaign after averaging 19.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 assists a game this season – notably better than the 12.4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a game numbers he registered last year.

Below is a complete list of awardees:

Most Valuable Player: June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel. Other nominees were Jayson Castro and Greg Slaughter.

Rookie of the Year: Stanley Pringle of Globalport. Other nominees were Chris Banchero, Matt Rosser, Jake Pascual, and Brian Heruela.

First Mythical Team: Jayson Castro of Talk ‘N Text, Paul Lee of Rain or Shine, Greg Slaughter of Ginebra, Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel.

Second Mythical Team: Asi Taulava of NLEX, Ranidel De Ocampo of Talk ‘N Text, Abueva of Alaska, and Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle of GlobalPort.

Most Improved Player: Terrence Romeo of the Globalport Batang Pier. Also nominated were Cliff Hodge of the Meralco Bolts, JC Intal of Barako Bull Energy Cola and Vic Manuel of Alaska Aces.

All-Defensive Team: June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood of Rain of Shine, Calvin Abueva and Ping Exciminiano of Alaska Aces and Chris Ross of San Miguel Beermen.

Sportsmanship Award: June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen. JVee Casio of Alaska and Paul Lee of Rain or Shine were also nominated.

– Rappler.com