Kelly Williams leads race

Sta. Lucia Realty forward Kelly Williams emerged as the top contender for the Best Player of the Conference plum at the end of the elimination round of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

A former Most Valuable Player winner, the 6-foot-7 hotshot overtook erstwhile leader Arwind Santos of San Miguel Beer for the coveted award after posting 40.1 statistical points.

William’s exploits in the All-Filipino conference was an inspiring story to tell after being sidelined in the previous Fiesta Cup due to Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura or ITP, a kind of blood disorder of having low platelet count.

Through 18 games, Williams averaged 17.4 points, a league-best 14.4 rebounds with 3.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks.

The Realtors, however, lost to the Purefoods Giants Friday night and were relegated to the knockout wildcard round.

SLR was playing Rain or Shine while Burger King was battling Coca-Cola at presstime with the winners clashing in another KO match on Wednesday to determine which team moves to the quarters against Purefoods.

Defending champion Talk ‘N Text faces Barangay Ginebra in the other best-of-five quarterfinal series, while already waiting in the seven-game Final Four showdown are Alaska and SMB.

Santos, the leader after the first round classification, slipped to second place with 38.2 SP. He averaged 18.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.6 blocks.

Acquired by SMB in the off-season, Santos is looking for his first ever BPC award.

Former two-time MVP winner Willie Miller of Alaska and TNT’s Mark Cardona kept their respective spots at No.3 and No. 4, respectively with Miller collecting 31.8 SP and Cardona 31.4 SP.

Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid moved a notch higher at No. 5 with 30.7 SP.

Miller, who nailed a tough jumper to help Alaska beat Rain or Shine, 95-94, and claim the last outright Final Four seat, averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while Cardona still leads the league in scoring with 20.4 points.

Tubid averages 17.5 points and 5.9 rebounds for the undermanned Ginebra.

Alaska’s Joe Devance also moved up from seventh to sixth with 29.9 SP, while teammate LA Tenorio fell two rungs lower as he finished at No. 7 with 29.1 SP.

TNT’s Harvey Carey and Purefoods’ Kerby Raymundo entered the Top 10 as they took the No. 8 and No. 9 spots with 29.9 and 27.8 SPs, respectively.

TNT point guard Jimmy Alapag also dropped but still ended at No. 10 with 27.1 SP.

Source: Waylon Galvez  | Manila Bulletin