THIS early Jayvee Mocon is making a strong case for the season’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie of the Year plum.
The Rain or Shine wingman emerged as the PBA Press Corps’s Rookie of the Month for February following his stellar showing that helped propel the Elasto Painters on top of the Philippine Cup.
The former San Beda ace averaged 5.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the five games Rain or Shine played during the “Love Month”—all of which the team won.
Mocon played an averaged 20.18 minutes per outing and started in two out of those five games and was the leading rebounder of the team during that stretch.
Picked sixth overall by Rain or Shine in last year’s draft, Mocon jump-started the month by exploding for 18 points, 17 rebounds and four assists, as Rain or Shine stunned reigning and defending champion San Miguel Beer, 108-98, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to emerge co-Best Player of the Game with two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap.
Mocon bested top rookie pick CJ Perez for the monthly honor handed out by the men and women regularly covering the PBA beat.
Perez, the first-ever recipient of the plum for the month of January, placed second in the voting after posting averages of 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists with Columbian Dyip, which went 1-2 in the three games it played.