Crown belongs to whom in June Mar’s absence?

MANILA, Philippines — Pampanga’s pride Jayson Castro of TNT KaTropa and top contenders to the throne of absentee MVP June Mar Fajardo lead the cast raring to shine in the coming PBA bubble in Clark.

Castro, the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference, chases bubble glory with TNT in his home province while NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger and Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar look to continue their teams’ momentum from the last Governors’ Cup.

Standhardinger won the season-ending meet’s BPC as the Batang Pier reached the semis and Aguilar made waves as Finals MVP as the Gin Kings reigned supreme.

Last year’s top rookie CJ Perez of Terra Firma (formerly Columbian Dyip), Magnolia’s Paul Lee, NLEX’ Kiefer Ravena, Phoenix’ Matthew Wright, Meralco’s Chris Newsome, TNT’s RR Pogoy and Poy Erram, and San Miguel’s Terrence Romeo are tipped to similarly make a splash in the bubble cagefest.

Blackwater’s Mac Belo, who was injured when the Philippine Cup was originally set to start last March,  returns to the fold to spearhead the Elite in Clark, according to coach Nash Racela.

But NorthPort’s sophomore ace Robert Bolick won’t be playing in the bubble, Batang Pier team manager Bonnie Tan confirmed to The STAR.

Bolick has already returned to practices after recovering from an ACL injury but NorthPort decided against including him in the 15-player roster to Clark.

The former San Beda star joins Fajardo, who is still recovering from shin injury, in the list of stars missing the bubble.

Also not taking part are NLEX veterans Larry Fonacier and Cyrus Baguio, who opted out due to personal reasons, and recent retirees PJ Simon, Sonny Thoss and Kelly Williams.

The teams submitted their final lineups yesterday in preparation for their departure to Clark on Monday.