SMB's Fajardo is undisputed PBA 'MVP of the decade'

MANILA, Philippines – For the Philippine Basketball Association, the decade about to end ushers in its entry into its 45th year of being, and could well be considered a renaissance period.

It’s a period of revival, with the league recovering from a slump to years of controversies topped by those issues investigated in the Senate.

It’s also a transition period, marking another passing of the baton with the likes of James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Ranidel de Ocampo, Arwind Santos and Jimmy Alapag facing the challenges of new stars Jayson Castro, Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo.

Marcio Lassiter, Stanley Pringle, Chris Ross are among the Fil-foreign stars that joined the mix.

Then there’s the arrival of the giant that changed the league landscape and raised the bar in individual greatness, shattering old-standing records.

San Miguel Beer behemoth June Mar Fajardo, a five-time MVP winner and in the running for a sixth plum, is without a doubt the MVP of the 2010s.

Individual stats and championships make MVP winners. The 6-foot-10 Cebuano behemoth has got it all, piling it up since his entry as the league top draft selection in 2012.

Debatable are the worthiest men to join Fajardo in the PBA’s Mythical Five for the decade.

But in terms of numbers, individual awards and titles won for their teams, emerging tops in their respective positions are Castro, Yap, Santos and De Ocampo.

 Other top performers and achievers are Alapag, Caguioa, LA Tenorio, Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle at guard spots, Jay Washington, Kelly Williams, Gary David, Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, Marcio Lassiter, Marc Pingris and Joe Devance at forward, and Sonny Thoss and Asi Taulava at center.

Castro, Alapag and Tenorio, teammates in the Gilas team with a respectable showing in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, are the top choices at point guard.

The TNT playmaker, however, shines brightest with his solid showing all season long, marked by five championships and six memberships in the Mythical Selection. He’s also in contention for the MVP award in the season about to end.

Using the same criteria, Yap would beat Caguioa at two-guard spot as the former UE hotshot even boasts of a second MVP crown won in their grand slam run in the 2013-14 season.

Santos is the winningest forward and the most bemedaled with his MVP coronation in 2013. The former FEU stalwart also tucked under his belt five Mythical First Five selections and one Mythical Second Team citation.

Then there’s De Ocampo, another Gilas hero who savored five championships with TNT and made the Mythical First Team thrice and the Second Team once.

Alapag (2011) and Caguioa (2012) are two others who bagged an MVP crown in this decade. Others gaining at least one Mythical Five citation are Thoss, Washington, Williams, David, Abueva, Barroca, Taulava, Romeo, Cabagnot, Ross, Aguilar, Pringle, Lee and Lassiter.

Devance and Pingris were good for three and two citations, respectively, as members of the Mythical Second Team.