JUNE Mar Fajardo, Allein Maliksi, and the memorable San Miguel-NorthPort showdown will be among those that will be honored in the 2022 PBA Press Corps Awards Night at Novotel Manila Araneta Center on June 21.
Fajardo is the latest recipient of the William “Bogs” Adornado Comeback Player of the Year, Maliksi is Mr. Quality Minutes, while the Beermen-Batang Pier duel during the Philippine Cup quarterfinals has been voted as Game of the Season.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo successfully battled back from a one-year absence after going down with a fracture on his right tibia and led the Beermen to the semifinals of the all-Filipino Cup, where they lost to eventual champion TNT Tropang Giga in a best-of-seven series that went the full route.
The league’s only six-time MVP winner finished the season with averages of 13.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists and finished fifth overall in statistical points, good enough to be named a member of the Mythical First Team.
Fajardo will receive the special award named after Adornado, the great shooting forward who overcame two career-threatening injuries and won the MVP award three times in a 13-year Hall of Fame career that saw him play for Crispa, U-Text, Great Taste, Shell, and Alaska.
Maliksi was voted Mr. Quality Minutes, an honor equal to the Sixth Man Award.
The Meralco shooting guard came off the bench in 24 of 42 games and average 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assist. He shot a high 41 percent from three-point range.
Not to be overlooked was the quarterfinal match between San Miguel and NorthPorth that was chosen as the Game of the Season, whose special feature had Alex Cabagnot and Robert Bolick engaging in an endgame shootout at the Bacolor bubble in Pampanga.
