STANLEY PRINGLE was named Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Cup bubble, Scottie Thompson hoisted the Sportsmanship trophy and Prince Caperal was the Most Improved Player—individual awards Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Head Coach Tim Cone credited to all of his wards dedication and hard work.
“I am genuinely proud and happy for our guys. All those guys that won the awards put in the work day-to-day and the awards are well-deserved,” Cone told BusinessMirror on Monday.
The Philippine Basketball Association presented special individual awards—in lieu of the Leo Prieto Awards—to outstanding players for the shortened 45th season that was played inside the Clark bubble late last year.
The other awardee of note was Norman Black’s son Aaron (Meralco) who emerged as the top rookie.
“Usually in the PBA, individual awards are often a function of team success. So we’re looking for more of both in the upcoming conference,” added Cone, who is hoping to lure back 7-footer Greg Slaughter.
“No doubt, Greg [Slaughter] is a huge impact player on our team. He changes the way we can play and gives us a level of versatility most other teams cannot match,” Cone said.
“His presence in the middle makes his teammates around him better. I’m really looking forward to his return,” he added.
Slaughter skipped last season and went to the United States to polish his game.
Cone said that with their Philippine Cup success in Clark, he couldn’t wait to defend the crown in the 46th season tentatively set to start in April.
Pringle tallied 1,640 points to defeat Phoenix Super LPG’s guard Matthew Wright (1,578), while Thompson earned 2,360 to beat Terrafirma’s CJ Perez (2,069). The 6-foot-7 Caperal (2,447) was a runaway winner over Phoenix’s Justin Chua.
High-leaping Gin King Japeth Aguilar also made it to the Elite Five with Pringle, Wright, Calvin Abueva of Phoenix, and JP Erram of TNT Tropang Giga.