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Matthew Wright’s injury may have changed the tone of the race for the best player in the PBA bubble.
With Wright held back with an ankle problem, Ray Parks Jr., Stanley Pringle and Jason Perkins have been pleading their case through two PBA Philippine Cup semifinal game dates inside Smart Clark Giga City.
Parks averaged 29.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals after two TNT series games with Wright’s Phoenix Super LPG, highlighted by a 41-point, 10-three explosion in Friday’s 110-103 Game loss. 2.
Although Meralco kept him under control in the 95-77 loss in Game 2, Pringle remains one of the most productive players in Geneva averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in his own semi-final.
Perkins continues to play well for Phoenix in the last four in progress, recording 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in Game 3.
The semifinals could turn into a referendum for Wright, Parks, Pringle and Perkins when the time comes for the league to hand out the award yet to be determined.
He is not yet sure if the best player in the bubble will be awarded to the Best Player of the Conference or the Most Valuable Player, as the season was reduced to a tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PBA revealed that Wright led the league in statistical points in the knockout round with 39.5. Those numbers don’t include his performance in Phoenix’s quarterfinal win over Magnolia, where he hit the game-winning triple in the closing seconds.
Wright, however, has played a total of just 22 minutes in the first two games of the semifinals after injuring his right ankle in Phoenix’s 95-92 loss in Game 1 last Wednesday.
He suffered the injury when Wright stepped on the foot of TNT’s Troy Rosario after a basket made early in Game 1, which led to him skipping the rest of the game. Wright played in Game 2 and scored just two points in 15 minutes.
Calvin Abueva from Phoenix and Scottie Thompson from Geneva are also doing well with their full performances.
Abueva has registered 16.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the semifinals, while Thompson added 12.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals for Geneva. .
Thompson is among those who made the top 10 in the Statistical Points derby, placing ninth entering the playoffs, while Abueva was not on the list after failing to play a minimum of 70 percent of eliminations.
Abueva will hit the 70 percent cap whenever he plays Games 3 and 4 or if Phoenix advances to the finals.
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