CONFERENCE’S BEST. Chris Ross of San Miguel celebrates with his teammates after winning the Best Player of the Conference award prior to the start of Game 4 of the Comissioner’s Cup Finals.
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Beermen sweep conference awards but KaTropa pull off win in Game 4
The TNT KaTropa tied the best-of-seven championship series of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at 2-2 after pulling off a 102-97 win over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 4 yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The decision to stick with Joshua Smith paid off for TNT as the burly import once again dominated the paint to the tune of 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Jayson Castro also stepped up to score 17 while Cebuano RR Pogoy finally broke out from scoreless outings in Games 2 and 3 to finish with 14 points.
Charles Rhodes, who won the Best Import award prior to the start of the game, led the Beermen with 22 points.
Meanwhile, Chris Ross won his first Player of the Conference award after his all-around value was recognized more by media and fellow players.
After ending up tied with teammate Alex Cabagnot for top spot in the statistical points race, Ross got the nod in the voting, with media making him the runaway winner with 32 out of a possible 39 first place votes that jacked up his total to 1,038 points.
Cabagnot got just three first place votes, with San Miguel cornerstone June Mar Fajardo getting four. Cabagnot was third in the player balloting and finished second with 746 points.
The Beermen swept the awards given out, with Rhodes winning the Best Import citation named after the late great Bobby Parks.
The win made Ross an automatic candidate for the season MVP awards, which Fajardo will try to win for the fourth straight year and extend a record many thought wasn’t possible at this day and age.