MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee is positioned as the leading candidate for the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Best Import award following the semifinals, with four players remaining eligible for the honor.
Brownlee leads the statistical points race among the candidates with an average of 50.5, putting him ahead of Rain or Shine’s Jaylen Johnson, TNT’s Chris McCullough and Meralco’s Patrick Gardner.
The award eligibility is limited to imports whose teams reached and completed the semifinals, in line with league rules. The four imports who reached that stage remain in contention regardless of total games played.
The final list was affected by the injury of TNT import Bol Bol, who suffered an Achilles injury in Game 2 of the semifinals and was ruled out of contention. He had previously led the statistical points standings after the elimination round.
Johnson placed second among the eligible imports with 49.3 statistical points despite playing only three games for TNT after being replaced. McCullough ranked third with 47.2 points, while Gardner posted 44.3 points in limited action.
The final selection for Best Import will be determined through a weighted system consisting of statistical points (45%), media votes (30%), and player votes (25%).
Brownlee’s teammate RJ Abarrientos is also among the finalists for Best Player of the Conference.
Abarrientos ranked third in statistical points with 37.2, behind NLEX’s Robert Bolick and San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo, although both teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
No player has previously won the Best Player of the Conference award after being eliminated in the quarterfinal round.
The Commissioner’s Cup Finals between Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang 5G is ongoing.
